Hunted
by Grayson-16
Summary: The rooftops of Gotham City have their share of masked vigilantes traveling across them any given night, putting a scare into the criminals of Gotham. Follow Nightwing as he tries to solve the identity of a mysterious masked vigilante that has suddenly appeared on said rooftops (Not an OC). Rating it T for some swearing, and suggestive comments.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: This story takes place just before the beginning of Season 2, and focuses on the Bat-family. I added in several characters from the comics, since I had yet to see them in Young Justice. This story was actually written while suffering from my worst case ever of writers block on another story; a story I plan this one to tie into. Hopefully, I can finish my other story and start posting it before I get to the point in this story that ties into it. I will be trying to upload a new chapter every couple of days, but apologize if it takes me a little longer sometimes.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice, Batman, blah, blah, blah; property of DC Comics.

**Hunted**

**Chapter.1.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 7, 2015 – 23:21 EST**_

A typical night in Gotham; cold, dreary, the sound of sirens can be heard in the distance. And, of course, a masked vigilante is traveling across the rooftops.

Except this vigilante isn't one of the regulars; this vigilante is new in town.

* * *

"What are we doing here?" Robin asks, sitting impatiently on a warehouse roof in the shipyards.

"We're working." Nightwing replies, sitting next to him, but using a set of binoculars to scan the roofs.

"I figured that." Robin replies. "But what specifically are we doing here?"

"How have you survived this long as Robin, if you're this impatient, and ask so many questions?" Nightwing asks. "Batman would never have taken that from me."

"What? You think I'm like this when I'm with him?" Robin asks. "I may not have as much experience as you did by my age, but I'm not stupid."

"So, you're just this annoying when you're on patrol with me, then?" Nightwing asks, putting down the binoculars, looking at Robin, and smiling.

"I just..." Robin says, and then looks down at his hands. "I just want to learn as much as I can from you. Batman is a great teacher when we're training, but, in the field, I think he forgets that I'm not you, sometimes. He expects me to know what to do, and when to do it, and I don't always know."

"He doesn't forget that you're not me, Little Bird; he was like that with me too." Nightwing says, picking up the binoculars and scanning the neighboring buildings again. "I messed up a bunch of times when we started working together, and it was always because he seemed to expect me to know the role he wanted me to play without him explaining it. But he never really got mad when I messed up, he would just explain what he had expected of me later, and I that's how I learned."

"Yeah, he does that to me too; but I just get the feeling that he doesn't trust me like he does you." Robin says, picking up his own set of binoculars, and scanning the rooftops.

"He trusts you, Little Bird; believe me when I say that." Nightwing replies. "It's because he trusts you that he doesn't explain what he expects of you; he trusts you do know."

Robin stiffens up, and points to a rooftop, several warehouses west of their position. "'Wing, look; we got someone on the roof."

Nightwing shifts his position, and looks at the indicated roof. "Where? Oh never mind, I see." He adjusts the focus, trying to get a better view. "I can't make out much; they're moving in the shadows."

"I definitely saw a cape." Robin says.

"Is Batgirl supposed to be out tonight? I thought she was taking the night off to study." Nightwing asks. He reaches up and presses his finger to his ear. "Nightwing to Batgirl; you there?"

He gets no reply.

"I don't think its Batgirl." Robin says.

"Well it's not Batman, and we're both here; so who else could it be?" Nightwing says, handing Robin his binoculars. "I'm going to go take a look; you stay on lookout, and watch my back."

Nightwing stands up, and leans forward, letting himself fall off the building. Before he can fall too far, he fires off a line, and swings up onto the next rooftop, where he rolls into a sprint, jumping off the next building.

Repeating his maneuver from the first swing, he eventually finds himself crouched in the shadows on the roof that they saw somebody. "You still with me, Little Bird?" He whispers.

"Got you covered, 'Wing." Robin replies. "Whoever it is, they're still hiding just behind that air vent to your right."

"Okay. Here's what we'll do; I'm going to circle around to the left, that way if they try to run, they'll have to run out into the open towards you." Nightwing says.

"And if they do run?" Robin asks.

"Then I'll chase them; but keep your distance until we know more. We don't know who, or what, we're dealing with here." Nightwing says. "If it looks like I need help, then feel free to jump in."

"Got it." Robin replies, cutting the link.

Nightwing circles around the edge of the roof quietly, trying not to alert his target. He is nearly there when he hears Robin say, "They just dropped into the air vent."

"What?" Nightwing asks, still stealthily approaching the air vent.

"I just saw them slip into the air vent." Robin replies. "What do we do now?"

"You better make your way over here." Nightwing replies. "I'm going to hop into the air vent, and see if I can find them; and you'll have to cover all the escape routes."

"On my way." Robin says.

Nightwing finally gets to the air vent, and finds that the grate has been removed, and placed on the ground. He examines it closely, and sees no sign of cutting, or force; but he does find several screws littering the ground nearby. "Whoever this is went through the trouble of manually unscrewing the vent." He says.

"Maybe they didn't want to risk making any noise?" Robin replies, over the communicator.

"Maybe." Nightwing says, picking up a few of the screws and placing them in a hidden pocket. "I'm going in."

"I'll be right here." Robin replies, running up to the air vent, and crouching down next to Nightwing.

Nightwing slides into the air vent, making sure to make as little noise as possible. "Little Bird, can you pull up the schematics of this place, and give me..."

"Way ahead of you 'Wing." Robin replies. "The vent you're in is the main vent for the entire warehouse. It branches off into lots of smaller side vents, but there is only one that is big enough to fit a human through. Head left until you get to the end; the t-section is the only other vent big enough. My guess is that whoever this is went right there."

"Why do you say that?" Nightwing asks a smile on his face from pride in Robin's ingenuity.

"It leads to the office section of the warehouse; just seems like the logical destination." Robin replies.

"Good job, Little Bird." Nightwing replies. "We'll make a detective out of you yet."

Nightwing silently crawls through the air vent until he gets to the t-section that Robin mentioned. He takes a quick glance around the corner and sees a shadow down to the right. "Just like you said, Little Bird; our cape is to the right." He whispers.

Just as he turns the corner, the shadow drops through the air vent, and into the offices below. He crawls over to the open vent, hanging off its hinges, and looks into the dark office. He doesn't have to look long, before he sees the caped shadow standing in front of a filing cabinet, rummaging through its contents.

He grabs the edge of the vent, and gently lowers himself into the room, dropping the last few feet to land in a crouch. He stands up and says, "I think business hours are between 9 and 6."

The shadow spins around, and he can hear a twang of an arrow being shot. Instinctively, he starts to duck, and roll out of the way, but he feels something stab into his left forearm before he can complete his roll.

He looks up to see a cape disappear into the air vent. "Robin, heads up; they're heading back out through the air vent. And they're armed; so be careful."

"Got it." Robin replies.

Nightwing doesn't bother checking his arm, and instead jumps up into the air vent. He rushes back the way he came, no longer caring about stealth, and jumps through the opening onto the roof; only to be hit in the head with something solid.

"Oh shit!" Robin says, rushing to Nightwing's side. "I thought you were the perp."

"Wait; nobody came through here?" He asks, holding the side of his head, and looking at Robin's collapsible bō like he would an assailant.

"Just you." Robin replies, rushing to the edge of the roof, and looking around. "I don't see anyone. No, wait; there." He points in the direction of someone running down the alley. "They must have gone out through the warehouse; I'm on it." He jumps off the roof, and fires off a line.

"No, wait!" Nightwing cries out, jumping to his feet, and rushing after Robin.

Robin has almost caught up with the perp, when a Wingding (Nightwing's version on a Batarang) cuts through his line, and he drops to the ground, rolling to help absorb the impact. He looks up, and sees Nightwing swing by, over his head, still after the perp. "What the hell?" He says into the communicator.

"I told you they were armed, Robin; that means you stay back until told otherwise." Nightwing replies. "You know the rules."

"Yeah, I know." He mumbles to himself, dusting himself off, and continuing the chase on foot.

Nightwing finally catches up to the perp, and releases his line just in time to tackle them. Once they stop rolling, Nightwing pins the perp down. "Don't move." He says.

"Get off of me, you big dope." The perp says, and he is surprised to hear that the voice is that of a woman.

He relaxes his grip enough for her to turn around while still pinning her to the ground. "You're a woman?" He says stupidly, when he finally sees her masked face.

"Yeah, and you're a dick." She says, lifting her knee up as fast as she can to slam into his crotch.

Nightwing's breath is knocked out of him, and he rolls over to his side; his hands covering his crotch.

The woman gets up, and runs away, before Nightwing can regain his composure.

"'Wing? Where is he?" Robin asks, rushing up to check on Nightwing.

"'She' got away." Nightwing replies, standing up, and remaining doubled over.

Robin figures out what happened, and laughs, "She kicked you in the nads? Oh man, wait until I tell Batgirl that you weren't wearing your cup."

"I am wearing it, genius." Nightwing replies, finally standing up straight. "Want me to kick you in the nads, and show you how little it actually helps?"

"So, what do we do know?" Robin asks.

"We report back to the cave, and try to figure out who our masked woman was, and what she was after." Nightwing replies, pressing a button on his gauntlet.

Moments later, the Batmobile comes zipping down the alley, and stops just feet from them.

* * *

The masked vigilante watches as the Batmobile drives off, from her hiding spot in a dumpster. "Damn heroes, ruining everything." She mumbles to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

**A****/N**: I just wanted to let everyone know that the female vigilante is not an OC. Some of you may already be able to figure out who she is, but I just don't want to use her name until it is found out by the Bat-family.

**Hunted**

**Chapter.2.**

_**Gotham City – Batcave**_

_**September 8, 2015 – 02:13 EST**_

A typical evening in the Batcave, as Bruce Wayne sits at the computer working away at whatever it is he works on between cases, while Alfred tries his best to clean.

The Batmobile comes to a stop, and Nightwing and Robin jump out. "Hey Alfred, I could use a little help." Nightwing says, lifting up his arm, showing a small arrow sticking out of his forearm.

"Master Dick!" Alfred says, worriedly. "What happened to you?"

"He got beat up by a girl." Robin says, trying to hold back laughter.

Nightwing slaps him, playfully, across the back of the head, and says, "Babs kicks your ass all the time, squirt; so don't talk."

"Who was it?" Bruce asks, having turned around from the computer to face them.

"Don't know." Nightwing replies. "Someone new."

"A meta?" Bruce asks.

"Don't think so." Nightwing replies, heading over to the medical table with Alfred. "Although she packs quite a kick." He mumbles to himself.

"We were patrolling near the docks, when I noticed her on another roof." Robin says, removing his mask, and sitting down, next to Alfred as he works. "Dick followed her into the air vent."

"I followed her into the office; that's where she shot me." Nightwing says, indicating his arm.

"Hold still, Master Dick." Alfred says. "This might hurt."

Nightwing grunts in pain, as Alfred yanks the arrow out, placing it on a tray, and immediately working on the open wound.

"You big baby." Robin says.

"How about I shove it your arm, and then we have Alfred yank it out; see if you don't make a sound?" Nightwing say, ruffling Robin's hair with his free hand.

Bruce is standing next to Alfred, and picks up the arrow. "Interesting." He says.

"What is?" Robin asks.

"Well, this arrow is obviously too small to be fired from a conventional bow." Bruce says.

"So it must have been fired from a miniature crossbow." Nightwing says.

"Yes." Bruce says, turning the arrow around between his fingers. "It's incredibly lite, but sturdy. Must be made from some special material."

"Something that we may be able to trace." Nightwing says.

"Yes." Bruce walks back to the computer with the arrow. "I'll start running tests on it, and see what I come up with."

"There we are, Sir." Alfred says.

Nightwing holds up his arm, and sees a fresh wrapping on his forearm. "Excellent work, as always Alfred." he says.

"What do we do now?" Robin asks. "Are we going to go back out looking for her?"

"Not tonight." Nightwing says. "You start school tomorrow, and I have to head to Mount Justice."

"I should have more on the arrow by tomorrow night." Bruce says.

Nightwing grabs Robin's shoulder before he can walk away, and whispers, "Finish giving the report before you turn in."

"Why don't you?" Robin whispers back.

"Just do it." Nightwing says, standing up, and walking towards the locker room.

Robin approaches Bruce, and clears his throat.

Bruce turns around to look at him, "Yes, Tim?"

"Ah, the building she broke into was warehouse 8, at Port Adams." Robin replies. "Also, Dick said that she was going through a filing cabinet in the dark when he approached her."

"Anything else?" Bruce asks.

Robin looks over at Nightwing, who tosses a screw towards him. He catches it, and hands it to Bruce. "Also, she took the time to unscrew the grate covering the air vent manually."

"I see; and what do you think this all means?" Bruce asks, leaning back in his chair, and watching Robin carefully.

"Well, she was obviously looking for information; about what, I don't know. And she didn't want anyone to know if she had found it. That's why she didn't damage the grate when she broke in; she didn't want anyone to think that someone might know whatever she was after." Robin says.

"Good job, Tim." Bruce says, smiling at him. "That makes perfect sense. And who do you think she would want to keep this a secret from?"

"I don't know?" Robin replies.

Bruce turns around and punches a few buttons on the computer.

"Whoa. Is that right?" Nightwing says, walking over to the computer, and looking at the screen.

"Warehouse 8 is owned by Stefano Mandragora; a mob boss." Bruce says.

"I thought Carmine Falcone was the mob boss in Gotham?" Robin asks.

"He's 'a' mob boss." Nightwing replies. "The biggest one right now; but Mandragora used to be one of the big guys too. He was head of one of the five Cosa Nostra families in Gotham."

"He's also the main reason they're not in charge anymore." Bruce says. "A few years back, he went on a tear, nearly destroying the Bertinelli family completely in order to try and consolidate the Cosa Nostra power under him as their leader. But it didn't work, as his organization was shunned by the three remaining families, and he was cut out of all dealings. Since then, he's had his holdings slowly picked away by mob bosses like Falcone."

"I thought he was done for. I haven't heard anything about him in years." Nightwing says.

"I thought so too." Bruce says, staring at the screen. "So why would our mystery lady be breaking into one of Mandragora's buildings? And what would she be looking for?"

* * *

"Damn it." The vigilante swore. "They took some of the screws." She was back on the roof, trying to put back the grate over the air vent. She counted the screws left, and figured that she had enough to install the grate well enough, that no one would notice unless they looked closely. Taking out her screwdriver, she got to work.

She had backtracked after the heroes had left, and re-entered the building. It didn't take long for her to find the information she had been after; information that was now saved on the memory card of her digital camera. It did take a little longer to find something to clean up the blood that the tall one had spilled after she had shot him in the arm.

She hadn't meant to shoot him, but he had surprised her, and she assumed that only Mandragora's men might sneak up on her. The last thing she needed right now, was Batman taking an interest in her or Mandragora's operations.

Once the last screw was in, she climbed down into the alley, and made her way over to, her motorcycle. She climbed on, put on her helmet, tucked in her cape, and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hunted**

**Chapter.3.**

_**Gotham City Academy**_

_**September 8, 2015 – 08:22 EST**_

A typical day in Gotham; cold, dreary, the sound of sirens can be heard in the distance. That actually describes almost every moment in Gotham.

Students starting their first day of school, march the halls like zombies just rising from the grave; wishing they had one more week of summer vacation. Among those students is fifteen year old, Tim Drake (aka Robin), and his friend Stephanie Brown.

"Man Tim, you look beat." Stephanie says, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, and shaking him.

"Hunh; oh yeah. I didn't sleep well last night." Tim replies, covering a yawn.

"You weren't busy coming up with some elaborate plan to prank your brother again, were you?" She asks.

"No; I was just nervous about school, I guess." He replies, smiling. "But now that you mention it; it has been a while since I pranked Dick, and I do still owe him for the last one."

"Well, whatever you plan; count me out." She says, letting him go. "Unless it involves catching him in the shower; or changing after a workout."

"Steph, I will not help you peek at my bro, you perv." Tim replies, playfully shoving her into the lockers.

"But he's so hunky." She says, looking up at the ceiling, dreamily. "I just want one little peek."

"You're hopeless." Tim says, laughing as he walks away.

She catches up to him, and locks her arm in his. "Okay, no peeking." She says. When he nods, she mumbles, "For now."

They continue walking to class, talking about their summers. When they get into their homeroom, they take their seats, and wait for their English teacher to show up.

Just before the bell rings, their teacher, Mrs. Jackson, walks in with a young woman behind her. "Hello class." Mrs. Jackson says. "I hope we all had a wonderful summer, and that we are ready to continue our educations."

The students mumble in reply.

"I would like to introduce you to a young lady who will be helping out during the semester as part of her university studies in education; Miss Helena Bertinelli." Mrs. Jackson indicates the woman standing behind her.

The woman steps forward, and gives a little wave to the class. "Hello." She says, before stepping back.

Something about the woman's name sounds familiar to Tim, but he can't seem to put a finger on it, so he jots it down in his notebook, and plans to look her up later.

"Now, I assume everyone has bought the required material for the class already?" Mrs. Jackson asks. "I see several of you haven't; well just pair up with someone for today, but you had better bring in your own copies tomorrow. This year we will be starting our work on Shakespeare; so I would like you all to open up your books to Romeo and Juliet."

Most of the boys groan, while the girls squeal with excitement.

Stephaine moves her chair over to Tim's desk. "Come on; open it." She says, pointing at his book.

"You forgot your book already?" He asks, taking his book, and opening to the right page.

"No, I have it, but I figured I'd take advantage of this chance to 'share' books." She replies. "Scoot over."

Tim, shuffles his chair a little bit, and Stephanie moves closer; so that she can see better.

"Now class, I will be assigning parts, and you will be reading the given lines out loud." Mrs. Jackson says. "And at the end of the semester, anyone who wants extra credit can perform an excerpt from the play in front of the entire class."

Once again, the boys groan, while the girls squeal.

"Alright, for the part of Romeo; let's have..." Mrs. Jackson says, looking around the room, for anyone lifting their hand.

Stephanie jabs Tim in the ribs, making him jump up, and lift his arm on reflex.

"Ah good, Timothy; so nice of you to volunteer." Mrs. Jackson says. "And how about we have Stephanie play Juliet."

Tim looks angrily at Stephanie; much like most of the girls are.

"Why did you do that?" He whispers to her. "I don't want to read for Romeo."

"Oh, come on; it'll be fun." She replies. "You know Mrs. Jackson was going to pick you anyways; you're her favorite."

"No, Bruce Wayne is her favorite billionaire; she just picks me all the time because she wants to impress him." He replies.

"Well, either way; it was going to be you. At least this way it looks like you volunteered; that's got to be good for a couple of extra points on your grade."

Mrs. Jackson continues to assign out parts, while Miss Bertinelli walks around the class observing.

* * *

The first day finally comes to an end, and the students rush out as is the school were on fire.

Tim and Stephanie talk as the walk out the front door, and across the front lawn. A honk draws their attention, and they both look up to see Dick Grayson standing next to a motorcycle, and waving at them.

"Hey little brother." Dick says when they get close. "Thought I'd pick you up after school and we could grab a bite to eat."

"Hey Dick." Tim says waiting for Stephanie to embarrass herself like she always does around his brother.

"Hi Dick." She squeaks out, her voice cracking as she speaks.

"Hey Stephanie; haven't seen you around the mansion in a while. What's going on; you two break up?" He asks, smirking at Tim.

Tim nearly chokes, as he tries to come up with a response.

"Oh, we're not dating Dick." Stephanie replies, calmly. "I prefer 'older' boys." She smiles and stares at him dreamily.

There it was; Tim had to struggle not to laugh.

"Well it's Tim's loss then." Dick says, trying not to embarrass her. "Any boy would be lucky to be with a lovely young lady such as yourself."

Tim swears he sees her eyes twinkle at the complement, and is sure that if she could float, she would be right now.

Another honk from behind them draws Tim's attention. "Hey, Steph, it's your mom." He says, trying to get her attention. "Steph; your mom." He repeats more slowly, shaking her.

"What? Where?" She asks, not taking her eyes off Dick.

"Right there." Tim says, taking her by the shoulders and spinning her sideways.

"Oh, there she is." Stephanie replies, walking over to the car, still in a daze, without saying goodbye.

When they drive away, Dick waves at the car, and Tim pulls his arm down. "Dude, give it a rest. She's going to spend the rest of the night daydreaming about you as it is." Tim says, picking up his helmet, and putting it on.

"Hit a nerve; have I?" Dick says, looking at Tim, and smiling. "You should just come out and tell her that you like her, already; it's obvious that you both like each other."

"No, she likes you." Tim says.

"No, she looks at me the way twenty year old women look at Bruce; like I'm some bigger than life fantasy or a potential gold mine for a better way of living." Dick replies. Looking around at the other students, and their parents. "But the way she looks at you is how a girl looks at a guy that she really likes."

"And you know this from your vast person experience with women?" Tim asks. "When's the last time you went out on a date?"

"I date." Dick replies. "It's just been a while. But I do know what I'm talking about. I saw the same thing with M'gann and Conner."

"Bad example, dude; they're no longer together." Tim says.

"Yeah, but the point is still valid." Dick says. "She's into you, and if you'd just man up and say something, you'd be together."

"Yeah; whatever." Tim mumbles. "We going or what?"

"Yeah, in a minute." Dick replies.

Tim looks up to see what seems to have drawn Dick's attention, and he follows his gaze; straight to the student teacher from his English class. "Dude, no." Tim say, grabbing his arm, and pulling him back to the bike.

"Who's that?" Dick asks. "She looks a little old to be in high school, and a little young to be a teacher."

"She's a university student helping out in English class." Tim replies. "My English class."

"Well then I think it's only polite if I go over there and introduce myself; I am your brother after all, and I should take more of an interest in your schooling." Dick says, freeing himself from Tim, and walking over to intercept Miss Bertinelli.

"Hello there, I'm..." Dick starts to say.

"Dick Grayson." She finishes for him. "I know."

"You do; do you?" He asks.

"Of course; everyone in Gotham knows the first son of Bruce Wayne." She says.

"Well I just thought I should come over and introduce myself since you'll be teaching my little brother Tim this year." He says, waving at Tim who is still standing beside the bike.

"To be fair I'm only assisting his teacher; you know her, right? Being the responsible, caring older brother that you are." She says with a smirk.

"Who? Mrs. Jackson?" He replies, and is rewarded with a stunned look on her face.

"I guess you would know her; since it wasn't that long ago she was probably teaching you." She says the smirk back on her face.

"Actually, I never had Mrs. Jackson." He replies. "I graduated two years early."

"Well then, it's been nice meeting you, Mr. Grayson; but I do have to go." She says, stepping past him.

"It's been nice meeting you too, Miss...I never did get your name." He says.

"No you didn't." She replies with a smile, turning around and walking away.

He watches her walk towards the teacher's parking lot, and is surprised when she gets in a Ferrari and drives off.

"Can we go now, or are you planning on embarrassing me some more?" Tim asks, standing behind him. "Hey look, there's Mrs. Jackson; why don't you go hit on her?"

"What kind of university student can afford a Ferrari?" Dick asks, watching the car disappear around the corner.

"You." Tim says, matter-of-factly.

"Okay, smart ass; how can she afford a Ferrari and live in Gotham, and yet I've never seen her at any of Bruce's events?"

"I don't know; maybe she has a rich father who doesn't force her to attend?" Tim says. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah; let's go." Dick says, taking his helmet from Tim, and putting it on.

* * *

Helena parks her car inside her garage, and walks into her kitchen. Dropping her briefcase on the counter, and she grabs the class lists. She shuffles through them, until she finds the one she's looking for; Mrs. Jackson's Homeroom.

She runs her finger down the names until she gets to the one she's looking for. "Got you." She says with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hunted**

**Chapter.4.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 8, 2015 – 23:48 EST**_

Nightwing stands at the edge of the Gotham Clock Tower, observing the city; but he is being distracted by a disappointed Robin talking to him over his communicator.

"I don't understand why I couldn't come out on patrol tonight; I mean it was just the first day. It's not like I have any homework, or anything." Tim says.

"I know, Little Bird; but Batman said no. It wasn't my call." He replies.

"It's not fair." Tim says. "How am I supposed to get any better if I don't get to go out on patrol?"

"That's a good one; you should definitely use that one on Batman the next time you see him." Nightwing replies, sarcastically.

"Ha, ha, ha, 'Wing; you're a regular comedian." Tim says.

"I try." Nightwing says, smiling.

"I'm just so bored." Tim says. "I've gotten so used to sleeping late, that I can't fall asleep."

"Go see Alfred." Nightwing suggests. "He's got tons of remedies for that. My personal favorite, though, will always be a cup of his super-secret hot chocolate; after two or three sips, I'm out like a light."

"Yeah; I guess I'll give it a shot. It's not like I'm going to convince Batman to let me patrol now." Tim says. "Goodnight, 'Wing."

"Goodnight, Little Bird." Nightwing says, hearing the click signaling that Tim disconnected.

"Is he still mad at Batman?" Batgirl asks, stepping out of the shadows.

"No; he's not really mad, just a little upset." Nightwing replies. "We had a talk last night."

"Oh, was this before or after you got kicked in the balls?" Batgirl asks.

Nightwing spins around to see her covering her mouth as she laughs. "I can't believe the little punk told you about that." He says. "And it's not something that you should be surprised about; it's the most logical place to kick a guy if you want to hurt, and distract him."

"Trust me, I know." She says, stepping up to stand next to him at the edge of the Clock Tower. "What did you two talk about?"

"He feels that Batman doesn't trust him as much as he does me. It's almost like he feels he has to live up to my example, in order to be good enough for Batman." Nightwing says.

"He's not the only one." Batgirl says. "We both feel that way."

"Then you're both wrong." Nightwing says. "Neither of you have to live up to me; least of all Robin. He's already on his way to being a much better Robin than I ever was; and he'll be an even better Batman when the time is right."

"I always assumed you would take over when he decided to finally retire?" Batgirl says.

"I don't have what it takes to be Batman; I realized that years ago." Nightwing says. "I'm much better off being Nightwing, anyways. Besides, we both know that Batman isn't going to voluntarily retire. But when that day comes, Robin will be ready."

"You really think he'd make a better Batman?" She asks.

"Definitely." Nightwing replies. "He's already shown that he's got Batman's intelligence and intuition. Then add in the fact that, personality wise, he's more or less like me; and you have a perfect blend of the Dynamic Duo in one person."

"I guess." Batgirl says.

"Plus he's nearly got my devilishly good looks; so he's almost the total package." He says, turning to look at Batgirl.

"My, my, my; we definitely think highly of ourselves, don't we?" She says, trying to hold in her laughter.

"Not at all." Nightwing replies. "But tell me something, Batgirl; why are you always standing behind me? Do you like what you see?"

He watches as her jaw drops, and a slight flush appears under her cowl, before jumping off the Clock Tower, and swinging away; laughing the entire time.

"That's not funny, Former Boy Wonder." She says into her communicator, but the only reply she gets in more laughter; so she shuts it down.

* * *

A dark figure crouches in the darkness, in the alley behind a restaurant in Midtown. The restaurant has long since closed for the night, and everyone is gone home; which is exactly what the dark figure wants.

The regular night sounds mask the sound of the lock being picked. Just as the door opens, a voice says, "We really need to talk about your disregard for business hours."

The masked vigilante spins around, crossbow drawn, looking for the speaker. "Where are you?" She asks, not seeing him anywhere.

"Put the crossbow away, and I'll come out." Nightwing replies. "I'm a little gun shy after you shot me last night."

She places the crossbow back in its holster, and waits.

She doesn't have to wait long, as Nightwing steps out from behind a dumpster further down the alley.

"I didn't mean to shoot you." She says. "I thought you were someone else."

"Who?" Nightwing asks. "One of Mandragora's men? Or Mandragora himself?"

"You're well informed." She says.

"I try." Nightwing replies. "So, you mind telling me why you broke into the warehouse last night, and what you're doing here tonight?"

"I can't." She replies. "It's personal."

"I'm afraid that 'personal' isn't going to be good enough." Nightwing replies. "You are 'technically' breaking the law."

"What do you care? These men are criminals." She says. "I'm not doing anything you or your 'friends' haven't done yourselves."

"Except we do what we do to stop criminals, and bring them to justice." Nightwing replies. "We don't do it for personal reasons."

"My personal reasons are justice." She says. "I'm going to make sure these men pay."

"Sounds more like vengeance, than justice." Nightwing says.

"They're the same thing." She says.

"I used to think so too." Nightwing replies. "But I learned quickly that the line is very thin, and crossing it is the difference between being one of the good guys, and being just like the people you're trying to take down."

"I don't need any lectures from you." She says.

"Fine." Nightwing says, holding up his hands. "But I can't let you go in there."

"Then I guess we'll have to continue where we left off last night." She says, getting into a fighting stance.

"I can't let you go in there, unless, you let me help you." Nightwing says.

"What?" She says, relaxing slightly.

"Let me help you find whatever it is you're looking for; you just need to tell me what that is. I have a lot more resources than you do; I'm sure." He says.

"This restaurant is a front for Mandragora's organization." She says. "I learned that from the files in the warehouse."

"Okay." He says, walking pat her, and peaking inside the dark kitchen. "And what do you expect to find here?"

"I'm looking for the next bread crumb that will lead me one step closer to Mandragora." She replies, slipping past him, and into the kitchen. "I just have to look hard enough, and I'll find it."

Nightwing closes the door, and quietly follows her through the kitchen, and to the stairs leading up. "Offices would be the most likely place to look." He says. He steps past her, and leads the way upstairs.

He picks the lock, and opens the door, sliding in quickly, and allowing her to do the same. "I'll start with the filing cabinet." She says. "You check the desk."

Nightwing walks over to the desk, and picks the locks, opening the drawers, and rummaging through the contents, while keeping an eye on his 'partner'. He notices that she pockets a piece of paper, before replacing the file, and continuing to search.

"Find anything?" He asks a couple of minutes later.

"Nothing; you?" She replies.

"Just some employee schedules and some questionable adult magazines that seem entirely inappropriate for a restaurant environment." He replies. "Wait; I hear something."

She closes the filing cabinet, and listens closely. "I don't hear anything."

He grabs her arm, and pulls her towards the desk, where they stuff themselves in the small space underneath.

Just as they disappear, the door opens, and three men walk into the room holding guns, and flashlights.

"Nobody's here." One of the men says.

"Then who set off the alarm?" One of the other men says.

"I don't know; some punk kids, maybe?" The third one suggests.

"You mook, nobody in this neighborhood'd be stupid enough to break into the bosses restaurant." The first guy says.

"Well someone set off the alarm." The second says.

"Probably just faulty wiring." The first guy suggests. "Things ain't been that good lately; what with Falcone scooping up alla da bosses businesses."

"Yeah, maybe." The second guy says. "Youse guys go check the basement; Ima take another look around the first floor."

They hear the door close, and footsteps walking down the stairs.

"Well, this is kind of cozy." Nightwing says, his back pressed against the drawers on one side.

"You know, for someone who is supposed to be all about stealth, you sure talk a lot." She replies, straddling his lap, and pressing her back to the underside of the desk.

"It helps ease the tension, I find." He replies. "We can probably get out from under here, now; unless you'd rather stay here for a little longer."

"In your dreams." She replies, sliding out from underneath the desk.

Nightwing stands up, and looks around. "We should probably get going, before they decide to check the office again."

They manage to sneak out into the alley without running into any of Mandragora's goons, and climb onto the roof of a nearby building.

"That could have gone a lot better." Nightwing says.

"What do you mean?" She asks, turning to look at him. "We got in and out without anyone knowing we were there; that sounds like a success to me."

"You didn't bother disabling their alarm." He says, crossing his arms, and glaring at her. "That's an amateur move."

"Well excuse me for not having your years of experience." She says, crossing her own arms, and trying to glare at him. "But they didn't have one at the warehouse; so I assumed they didn't have one here."

"So, what's our next move?" He asks.

"I'm sorry, 'our'? There is no 'our'." She replies. "I appreciate your help tonight, but it was a onetime thing."

"If you say so." Nightwing replies.

She slowly backs away from him, towards the edge of the building. "You're just going to let me go? You're not going to try and stop me?" She asks.

"No; I'm not." He replies.

She takes one last look at him, before dropping off the building and into another alley, where she runs up to her bike, and drives away.

* * *

Nightwing parks his bike next to the Batmobile, and removes his helmet.

"Where did you run off to?" Batgirl asks, walking up to him, as he sits at the computer. "I continued our patrol alone, until Bruce showed up; he wasn't too happy that you left me alone."

"He's never happy." Nightwing mumbles.

"I heard that." Bruce says, stepping out of the shadows beside the locker room. "But I'll forgive you if you tell me where you were."

"I ran into our mysterious masked vigilante again." He replies. "I caught her trying to break into one of Mandragora's restaurants in Midtown."

"Did you arrest her?" Batgirl asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"No; I helped her." Nightwing replies.

"You what?" Batgirl asks, shocked.

"What did you find out?" Bruce asks, calmly.

"I found out that she's out to bring Mandragora down for personal reasons; she's not working for anyone." Nightwing replies. "Also she's a little inexperienced; she forgot to disable the alarm before going in. We had to hide from three of Mandragora's men."

"And what did you find out before they showed up?" Bruce asks.

"I can't believe this." Batgirl mumbles. "You actually helped her break the law?"

"Babs, we break the law all the time, in the name of justice; this was no different." Nightwing replies, turning his attention back to Bruce. "I found out nothing, but our femme fatale came across something while searching the filing cabinet."

"And I suppose you just let her walk away with it?" Batgirl asks.

"Give me a little bit more credit than that, Babs." Nightwing says, pulling out a folded up piece of paper. "I switched it for a little note I wrote."

* * *

The masked vigilante finally comes to a stop after driving around the city in a random pattern, hoping to lose any pursuers. She parks her bike, and covers it with a tarp, before walking into her kitchen. She removes her crossbows and places them in the drawer closest to the garage door.

After stretching out tired muscles, she reaches into the pouch she had placed the paper she took from Mandragora's restaurant, and pulls it out. She unfolds it and reads it, her face contorting with anger.

"Damn it!" She shouts, slamming the paper down onto the kitchen island. "That little …argh! He double crossed me."

She looks down at the paper, and reads it again. "Fine, Mr. Nightwing; I'll meet you again tomorrow night. But you better bring what you took from me, or we will continue where we left of last night."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hunted**

**Chapter.5.**

_**Gotham City Academy**_

_**September 9, 2015 – 09:30 EST**_

The bell rings, signaling the end of homeroom, and the students stuff their books away, filing out into the halls.

Tim is walking behind Stephanie, having just had one of the more horrible classes ever, as they had continued reading their parts; only Mrs. Jackson had insisted that they stand in front of the class when they did.

"Mr. Drake; I was wondering if I might have a word with you?" Helena asks, sweetly.

"Ah, sure." Tim replies, turning to Stephanie. "I'll see you in math."

Stephanie exits the class room, and Tim waits with Helena until the rest of the students have left.

"I'm really sorry about Dick, Miss; I tried to stop him from bothering you, but he never really listens to me." Tim says, quickly.

"Oh that; it's okay." Helena replies, waving her hand. "There are worse things I can think of than being hit on by Dick Grayson. No, I wanted to talk about you, Timothy."

"What about me?" Tim asked, confused.

"Well, you just seemed a little disinterested while you were reading your lines." She says.

"I'm not really a big fan of Romeo and Juliet, or public speaking." Tim replies.

"Oh, I thought it might have something to do with your friend, Miss Brown." She says.

"What? Steph?" Tim says, getting flustered. "She's just my friend."

"I never said otherwise." She smiles. "But you are quite defensive."

"I thought you were studying to be a teacher, not a shrink." Tim says.

"I'm minoring in psychology, actually." She replies.

"Well, I've seen my share of shrinks in the last couple of years; I don't need anyone else trying to analyze me." Tim says, walking into the hallway.

Helena watches him walk away, and a plan suddenly enters her mind.

* * *

Tim's day just got worse from there, he had been so distracted by his talk with Helena, that he wasn't paying attention in math class, and got detention when he was called upon to answer a question that he hadn't heard. Then at lunch, he had had to refrain from fighting when the school bullies decided to pick on him for being adopted by Bruce.

So, there he sat, in detention, staring out the window, and waiting for this nightmare day to end. That's when he noticed Dick waiting outside next to his bike. He glances over at the teacher in charge, and sees them reading the newspaper; so he pulls out his cellphone, and sends Dick a text.

"What are you doing at my school?" He writes.

He sees Dick pull out his phone, and then type away.

"I'm here to pick you up." Dick writes back.

"Why?" He writes.

"Because I need your help." Dick replies.

"With what?" He asks.

"Going to meet that new 'girl', and wanted you to cover me." Dick replies.

"Why not get Bruce or Babs?" He asks.

"Bruce had an emergency 'meeting', and Babs is 'tutoring' my class tonight." Dick replies.

"I'm in detention." He writes.

"Why?" Dick asks.

"Because..." He replies.

"How much longer?" Dick asks.

"Another 15 minutes." He replies, looking at the clock.

"I'll wait here." Dick writes, putting his phone away.

Tim stuffs his phone in his pocket, and sits there for the final 15 minutes before running out the door when the bell rings.

He rushes out the front door, and comes to a halt when he sees Dick talking to Helena.

"So, Friday night at 7?" Dick asks.

"You are persistent, Mr. Grayson." She replies, smiling.

"Please, call me Dick; everyone else does." Dick says, giving her the smile that Tim has seen melt the hearts of countless women.

"All right, Dick; 7 o'clock. I'll meet you there." Helena says, starting to walk away.

"You still haven't told me your name." Dick says, reaching out and grabbing her hand.

"Do names really matter that much to you?" She asks, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. "Helena."

"Then I'll see you there Friday, Helena." Dick says, releasing her hand, and watching her walk away.

Tim finally walks the rest of the way, and growls, "Dick, how could you?"

"How could I what?" Dick asks, with a guilty smile on his face.

"I asked you not to embarrass me." Tim says, taking his helmet, and putting it on.

"I'm not embarrassing you." Dick says, putting on his own helmet.

* * *

"You're taking my teacher out on a date." Robin says, crouched in the shadows on top of the Gotham Clock Tower. "That's plenty embarrassing."

"Technically she's a teacher's assistant, and she has no say on your grade; so there's nothing wrong with me taking her out for dinner." Nightwing replies, scanning the city from the edge of the tower.

"Yeah, because dinner is where it always ends with you." Robin mumbles, sarcastically.

"Hey, you're the one who said it had been a while since I went on a date." Nightwing says.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd ask out my teacher." Robin says.

"Teacher's assistant." Nightwing corrects him. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"Of course you wouldn't; you're captain optimist." Robin replies. "But when you break her heart; who do you think is going to suffer? Me; you're little brother."

"What makes you think I'll break her heart?" Nightwing asks. "Maybe she's my soul-mate?"

"Let's look at your history with women; shall we?" Robin says ticking off names on his fingers. "Zatanna."

"I was 14, and I had a crush on her." Nightwing replies. "We went on three supervised dates."

"And she cried for a solid week when you said you should just be friends." Robin replies. "Artemis told me." He says, when Nightwing turns back to look at him.

"It's not my fault she was a bit more into me than I was into her." Nightwing replies.

"It kind of is." Robin says, ticking off another finger. "Rocket."

"There was nothing going on between us." Nightwing defends himself.

"So Conner was lying when he said he walked in on you two playing tonsil hockey on the couch?" Robin asks.

Nightwing sighs. "Okay; maybe we made out once or twice, but it never went any further." He replies.

"Yeah, because you ended it, and she nearly destroyed the training room 'dealing' with it. I heard that the next perp she stopped after that still can't walk the same." Robin says ticking off another finger. "Then there's Barbara."

Nightwing turns completely around with an angry look on his face. "You will not talk about me and Babs." He says, anger in his voice.

"Okay, let's talk about the plethora of non-super hero women you've dated, and how well all of those went." Robin says.

"Okay, I get it; I've broken some hearts. But I never did it on purpose; I always had the best intentions." Nightwing says, turning back to scan the city. "And it's not like I didn't get hurt when things ended."

"I know, but you don't have a very good track record; and this one can make things really uncomfortable for me, if it doesn't work out." Robin says. "You may not notice it, but women tend to fall hard and fast for you, 'Wing. And that makes things so much harder when you aren't that into them."

"So, what do you want me to say; that I won't take Helena out?" Nightwing asks.

"I would like that." Robin says. "But I would be a pretty crappy brother if I asked."

Nightwing glances over his shoulder at Robin. "So, what are you saying?" He asks.

"Go to dinner with her; but please try not to let it get too serious." Robin says. "If you don't think you're that into her; end it quickly."

Nightwing turns back around. "Okay; I promise." He says, holding out his hand. "If I don't feel any kind of spark at dinner; I'll end it there."

Robin looks at him for several moments before shaking his hand. "Alright." He replies.

"Now that that's settled; can we get back to work?" Nightwing asks. "I didn't sneak you out tonight so that you could lecture me."

"Wait; 'sneak me out'? Robin asks.

"Yeah. Batman said no patrolling for you on school nights unless it's an absolute emergency." Nightwing replies. "But with him on the Watchtower, and Batgirl training the Team at Mount Justice; I needed backup, just in case. Don't tell Alfred; I told him you were going to Mount Justice to train tonight."

"So, you owe me big time for this then?" Robin asks, a smile on his face.

Nightwing stares at him for a few moments before asking, "What do you want?"

"My own motorcycle, for Robin; so I don't always have to ride with you guys." Robin says.

Nightwing stares at him for several more moments before sighing. "I'll see what I can do; but you can't have it until you're 16, and can legally drive it."

"But you used to drive yours all the time, and you weren't 16." Robin says.

"Yeah, but I didn't have a big brother watching out for my ass." Nightwing says, ruffling Robin's hair.

"'Wing; my hair." Robin says, stepping back, and flattening his hair back in place.

"If you're done making yourself look pretty; we should probably get to the rendezvous location." Nightwing says, jumping off the tower and firing off a line.

"Wait; 'Wing!" Robin calls out. "You never told me where it was."

He jumps off the tower, and follows Nightwing through the night sky.

"Then you better keep up, Little Bird." Nightwing replies over the communicator.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hunted**

**Chapter.6.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 9, 2015 – 22:50 EST**_

The masked vigilante waits in the shadows on the roof of an old closed down theater in the Lower East Side district of Gotham. She checks her watch again, and sees that Nightwing is now 20 minutes late; her anger starting to rise.

"Sorry I'm late." She hears Nightwing say from somewhere behind her. "Got caught up with a bank robbery over in Stevensburgh."

She turns to find him standing right behind her. "How did you..?" She asks, trying not to sound surprised.

"How did I manage to stop them, and still get here only 20 minutes late?" Nightwing says, leaning against the wall. "Well, it wasn't easy; but some day, with enough training, you might be able to do it too."

The fact that he is smiling, and acting cavalier about everything enrages her more, and she remembers why they're there. "Where is it?" She asks through clenched teeth.

"What; the paper you 'borrowed' from the restaurant last night?" Nightwing asks, acting innocent. "Oh, that's back at the Batcave."

She can't keep the shock from her face, or voice. "Then what the hell are we doing here?" She asks. "I thought you were going to give me back the paper."

"I never wrote that; did I?" He asks, trying to look confused, but his smile giving away that he is just playing with her.

Her anger boils over, and she takes a swing at him; but he is quicker than she anticipates, and he dodges.

"Hey, what's that about? I thought we were finally becoming friends." He says, dodging another punch.

"Fight back you, moron." She growls, as he continues dodging her attacks. "Give me the satisfaction of kicking your ass again."

"To be fair, you never really kicked my ass." Nightwing says, jumping up to avoid a sweeping kick. "You just caught me off guard."

"Whatever; fight me." She says, getting tired of not being able to connect a single blow.

"Why would I fight you?" He asks, sidestepping another swing, but this time, grabbing her wrist, and using his free hand to push her elbow; forcing her to slam into the wall. Where he twists her arm behind her back, and pins her there. "If you're done; I'd like you to listen to what I have to say."

"I told you already; I don't need you lecturing me." She says, struggling against his hold.

"Not a lecture." He says, releasing her and stepping back.

She turns around, and rubs her wrist, where he had grabbed her. "Then what? You don't have the paper on you; so what could you possibly have to say that I'd want to hear?"

"I was going to say that if you're done trying to fight me; we should probably head inside and see if we can find the next bread crumb." He replies, smiling again.

"What?" She asks, looking around. "Here?"

"Yeah; here." He replies. "Using the information from the paper you 'borrowed', I was able to pinpoint this theater as one of Mandragora's old hideouts. I then double checked the info against Gotham City records, and confirmed that Mandragora still owns it, under an alias of course, and that despite being shut down for years, it still has its electricity bills paid regularly."

"And you just happened to pick this place as a meeting spot before even seeing the paper?" She says, crossing her arms in front of her. "Yeah, right."

"Actually, I already knew this was a possible Mandragora location from the night before." Nightwing replies. "When I figured you were after him, I looked up possible leads on him; this place and the restaurant were at the top of my list of possible places you'd hit. I lucked out catching you at the restaurant when I did."

"Wait; you're not pulling my leg. You're serious?" She says, shock entering her voice again. "This is actually the place?"

"I'm always serious...well, sometimes; but this time I am." He says, walking past her, and to the doorway leading down into the building. "How about you let me handle the breaking and entering part this time? We don't need to tip them off any more than they already are; Mandragora gets suspicious, and he'll crawl under a rock so big, it'll take years to pick up his trail again."

"I'm supposed to just trust you; after you stole the paper from me last night?" She asks, watching as he attaches a cable from his gauntlet to the electrical box next to the door.

"To be fair; you were the one who was trying to keep a secret from me, after I offered to help you; so the real question is, can I trust you?" He asks, tapping away at the holographic keyboard.

She stands by quietly as he finishes hacking, and tucks the cable away. Then he stands up and opens the door.

"I want Mandragora to go down." She says, looking into his mask.

"He's a criminal with a history of murder; I want him to go down too." Nightwing says, holding out his hand.

She looks at his offered hand, and reaches out, taking his hand in hers, and shaking it; but before letting go, she pulls him closer, and spins him around, pinning him to the wall in the same way he had pinned her. "Don't double cross me, Nightwing; or so help me God, you'll pay."

"Need I remind you; you withheld info from me." He replies, but a twist of her hand, puts more pressure on his already torqued shoulder. "Alright; I promise."

She lets him go, and steps back, a smile plastered on her face at having caught him off guard. "Then lead the way, partner."

Nightwing turns around, and walks through the doorway, into the building.

It doesn't take long for them to come across signs of life; as they hear several voices coming from below them. They make their way, silently, down the hallway, and out onto the overhanging walkways, that crisscross the stage.

Nightwing points down towards the seating area, and she looks to see that a section of the seats have been ripped up, and replaced with a large rectangular table; currently surrounded by no less than 12 men.

She stands up, but Nightwing grabs her arm, and pulls her back down into the shadows with him. "What are you doing?" He whispers.

"I'm going to stop them." She replies.

"There are too many of them, and Mandragora isn't here." He says. "You'll just be wasting your time, and alerting him to the fact that someone is after him."

"But those men are criminals." She says, trying to stand up again, and getting pulled back down.

"I know, but we have bigger fish to fry; so we let the little fish go until then." He replies.

"So you'd just let these men walk away, scot free?" She asks. "What kind of hero are you?"

"I didn't say we'd let them walk; just walk away from here." He replies with a smile. "If we bust them up here, it'll alert Mandragora that someone is on to him. But if we take them out once they've left, and are by themselves; we can make it look like just random bad luck on their part."

"So, we just wait?" She asks, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah; we wait." He replies.

They sit there for several minutes, before she starts to get bored. "I don't think I'm cut out for this waiting business." She whispers. "How do you do it?"

"You get used to it after a while." He replies, looking over at her with a smile. "But I can think of a great way to kill time."

She looks at him, and sees a smirk on his face. Shocked, she asks, "You think I'm going to just have sex with you; right here, because we're bored?"

"Wow; you have such a perverted mind." He says, pretending to be offended. "I was going to say that we could get to know each other a little bit better; if we're going to be working together to bring down Mandragora."

She looks at him, skeptically, before turning her attention back to the theater floor. "What do you want to talk about?" She asks.

"Well, we could start with your name." He says. "It might be helpful to be able to communicate with you."

"I'm not telling you my name." She says, shocked.

"Your 'hero' name." He says, shaking his head. "What do you call yourself?"

"Oh." She says, looking a little embarrassed. "They're moving."

Nightwing looks down to see the group standing up, and slowly walking towards the various exits.

"I guess that's our queue." He says, standing up, and leading her back to the roof.

Once they're on the roof, he reactivates the security system, and locks the door, so that no one can tell there had been a break.

"How do we do this?" She asks. "Do we just chase them down, one by one?"

"Sort of." He replies. "I scanned their faces and found 4 of them with outstanding warrants for their arrest; they'll be our first targets."

She walks to the edge of the roof, and looks over to the street below. "So which one first?"

"Well, we won't be able to track them all at once; so I call in the backup." He says, pressing a finger to his ear. "You there, Little Bird?" He asks.

"Little Bird?" She asks, turning around to see him holding up his hand for her to be quiet.

"Yeah, we found some of his men, but he wasn't there." Nightwing says.

"Who are you talking too?" She asks, but he turns to her and holds his hand up again.

"I picked 4 targets; we'll split up and take one each." He says. "I know that there are only 3 of us, and there are 4 targets, Little Bird; but two of the targets are brothers, and I'm betting that they'll be traveling together." He pauses for a moment. "Nice try, Little Bird; but the brothers are mine. You can follow Giuseppe Salvatori." Another pause. "He's the tall skinny one with the blue suit, wearing the sunglasses at night." Another pause. "You see him? Alright, stay in contact, and call out if you need any help; remember the rules, and don't engage if you see Mandragora."

He turns back to her to see her stands there with her arms crossed. "Who were you just talking too?" She asks.

"My backup." He replies. "He'll track down Salvatori, while you go after Gianfranco, and I take out the Campoli brothers."

"You had backup?" She asks.

"Well, I couldn't be sure you wouldn't attack me, again, and I've learned to always be prepared." He replies. "Gianfranco is the one wearing the gray sweat suit."

"I know which one is Gianfranco." She replies, angrily.

"Good. Then take this." He says tossing her something small.

She catches it and looks at the tiny metal device the size of a dime.

"It's a communicator; so we can stay in touch." He says, anticipating her question. "Just put it in your ear; it's already set to our frequency. Tap it once to open the channel and allow us to hear you, and twice to close it."

She places it in her ear, and adjusts it until it fits properly. "What happens when I tap it three times?" She asks, jokingly.

"It self-destructs." He replies. "And you don't want it in your head when it does."

She sees the serious look on his face, and decides that he isn't joking.

He taps his ear again. "Say hello, Little Bird." He says.

"Hello." She hears someone's voice say into her ear. "And please call me Robin if you need anything; Little Bird is just Nightwing's way of putting me in my place."

"It's a term of endearment." Nightwing says. "Like I call Batman 'Bats'; or 'Old Man'."

"Don't listen to him; he tends to talk a lot just to fill the silence." Robin says. "Anyways, I gotta go; Salvatori's on the move."

She hears a click, and sees Nightwing tap his ear again.

"Gianfranco is headed north; probably heading to his mistress' apartment in Midtown." He says. "If you hurry, you can catch him just as he passes Miller Harbor."

"Okay." She says, walking towards the far end of the roof, where she plans to drop into the alley, and get her motorcycle. She stops at the edge, and looks back at Nightwing, who is watching her. "Thanks." She says. "And you can call me Huntress."

He doesn't reply, just nods. Then he fires off a line at one of the taller buildings in the neighborhood, and jumps off the roof, swinging away.

* * *

Nightwing had been right, as Huntress sees Gianfranco's car stopped at a red light, just past Miller Harbor. She pulls up next to the driver's side window, and stops. He glances over at her, and does a double take when he sees that she's wearing a mask and cape, and has a crossbow pointed at him.

He quickly scrabbles to grab his gun, and points it at her; but is unable to pull the trigger, as she shoots an arrow between his eyes. He slumps over, dead, and she drives off into the night.

* * *

Nightwing stands over the unconscious forms of the Campoli brothers, having just finished tying them up, and calling the GCPD. He taps his ear, and says, "You there, Little Bird?"

"Yeah, 'Wing." Robin replies over the communicator. "I just finished making sure that the GCPD picked up Salvatori. What's up? You need any help?"

"No, I'm all done here. Did you have any trouble?" He asks, seeing a GCPD cruiser coming his way.

"No. I used that trick you taught me with the shadows to make him think I was Batman; he passed out and pissed himself." Robin says, laughing.

"Good one, Little Bird." Nightwing says, pointing to the two unconscious men as the police approach, and saying, "The Campoli brothers; both have outstanding warrants."

"Have you heard from her?" Robin asks.

"No, but no news is good news; right?" Nightwing says, helping the policemen carry the mobsters into the cruiser. "I got a name, by the way."

"Oh yeah; what is it? Not another 'Bat' I hope." Robin asks.

"No; Huntress." Nightwing replies, calmly.

"Wait; wasn't Huntress..?" Robin says.

"Artemis' mom's old super-villain name; yeah." Nightwing replies. "I think I need to pay her and Wally a visit; they might have some answers about the identity of our mystery woman."

"You don't think that it's Artemis; do you?" Robin asks.

"No; she gave up the hero business." Nightwing replies, firing off a line, and pulling himself up onto a roof. "But she does have a sister."

"Isn't her sister Cheshire? Why would she suddenly change her name, and become a hero?" Robin asks.

"I don't know, but I need more information; and soon." Nightwing replies. "I'm going to head out and finish the patrol; you need to get home before Agent A realizes that you aren't at Mount Justice training, and we both get in trouble."

"Okay, 'Wing." Robin says. "Heading home now; and thanks for bringing me along."

"Always happy to have you with me, Little Bird." Nightwing says, hearing the click of Robin cutting the communication.

**A/N:** For those of you that are wondering, Agent A is their code name for Alfred when they're in costume.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: For those of you that guessed it, the masked vigilante is indeed the Huntress; congratulations. I know I wasn't very subtle with my hints, but I didn't want to come right out and say it was her; I wanted to have a little fun. That being said, back to the story.

**Hunted**

**Chapter.7.**

_**Palo Alto, California**_

_**September 10, 2015 – 12:19 PST**_

A quiet little neighborhood in Palo Alto, California is disturbed by an angry yell of, "Wally!"

Inside the apartment they share together, Wally is busy ducking articles of clothing that Artemis is throwing at him. "How many times do I have to tell you to pick up after yourself, and not leave your laundry all over the apartment?" Artemis shouts. "I'm not your maid!"

"Babe, chill." Wally says, holding up his hands to try and calm her, only to receive a shirt in the face.

"Don't you 'babe' me, Baywatch!" She yells, but Wally knows that if she's using her nickname for him than she's starting to calm down.

She grabs the last piece of clothing within reach and throws it at him. He quickly sidesteps, but just as the slightly open front door is pushed open, and Dick Grayson steps in. "Hey, is everything okay in here?" Dick asks, as something slams into his face.

He peels it off, and holds it out in front of him, revealing a pair of lacy panties. "My, my, Wally; I never pictured you as a thong guy. I always thought you wore boxers." Dick says.

"Ha, those are yours; I'm not the only one leaving my laundry around." Wally says to Artemis before he realizes what his best friend just said. "Dude; not cool." He says, turning to face Dick.

Artemis rushes over and grabs the panties out of Dick's hands, her face as red as Wally's hair. "I'm so sorry, Dick." She says, stuffing the panties in her pocket.

Dick laughs, and pulls her into a hug, kissing her cheek. "It's fine, Artie. I'd rather get hit in the face by your underwear than Kid Mouth's; I'd have to disinfect my face for a week, just to feel clean again."

Artemis laughs, as they break the hug, and Wally walks over to hug his best friend. "I see you still have your lame sense of humor." Wally says.

"Oh, you hurt me, Wall-man." Dick says, acting hurt. "And here I thought you cared. Maybe I should steal Artie away from you; just to teach you a lesson. I mean she did just throw her underwear at me the moment I walked in the room; that's got to count for something."

"I'm going to go hide in our room, and die now." Artemis says, walking away, her face red again.

"So what brings you to the other side of the country unannounced, Dick?" Wally asks, indicating for him to have a seat on the couch.

Dick sits down, and is joined by Wally. "I'm sorry to just drop in like this, but I needed to talk to you guys."

"Ah, girl problems, eh?" Wally says, stretching out. "Good thing you came to the master, my young apprentice; I can tell you the secret to win any girls heart."

"Yeah, flirt with someone else, endlessly, and annoy the hell out of her until she finally caves in." Artemis says, joining them of the couch, and handing them each a bottle of water.

"Hey, it worked with you." Wally says, defensively.

"It's not about a girl...well kind of; but not really." Dick says. He takes a deep breath, and asks, "What can you tell me about the Huntress?" He asks, looking at Artemis.

Artemis looks shocked, but quickly recovers. "That was my mom's name when she was a super-villain." She says. "But you already knew that; it's all in her file."

"Not your mom." Dick says. "The new Huntress; the one that's running around Gotham hunting down mobsters."

"There's a new Huntress?" Wally asks.

"Yeah." Dick replies. "I was hoping, maybe, you might know something about her."

"Sorry, Dick; I can't help you there." Artemis says. "I only know about my mom, but she gave up the name when she was in prison."

"Yeah." Dick says, leaning back into the couch. "Any chance your sister..?"

"Jade?" Artemis asks, shocked for a second time in less than 5 minutes. "I seriously doubt that she would take up our mother's old name; she never really got along with her."

"Plus, she's in Washing...ow." Wally says, rubbing his arm where Artemis pinched him. He looks at her to see her glaring at him.

"I already know she's in Washington, Artie." Dick says.

"Oh, right; Batman." Artemis says.

"Not Batman." Dick says, running his hand through his hair, nervously. "I've been tracking her since she met you in Gotham, and told you she was leaving the life of crime."

"You what?" Artemis asks, standing up, and towering over Dick.

"I needed to be sure she was telling the truth, and not trying to use you for the League of Shadows." Dick replies.

"I can't believe...how could you...just like him..." Artemis starts to mumble as she paces back and forth.

"If I hadn't been keeping track of her, the League of Shadows would have killed her last year." Dick says.

"What are you talking about?" Artemis asks, stopping her pacing, and glaring at him.

"I found out that the League of Shadows had tracked her down using the letters she sent to you, and went to Vietnam to warn her; we barely escaped with our lives." Dick explains. "She ditched me when we got states side, but I never really lost track of her. I was just wondering if she might be moonlighting as Huntress in Gotham."

Wally and Artemis look at each other before turning back to face Dick. "She's a little too preoccupied to be doing anything remotely similar to what you're saying." Artemis replies.

Dick looks from one to the other, and decides to drop it. "I get it; need to know stuff." He says. "Do you think your mother might know anything?"

"Why would she know anything?" Artemis asks.

"I don't know; maybe some delusional 'fan' approached her about her past, and took up the mantle for their own personal reasons." Dick says. When he sees the looks of confusion on their faces he says, "Believe me, it's not as stupid as it sounds; I've seen it a couple of times in the last year, myself."

Artemis sits back down, and Wally puts his arm around her. "I doubt it, but I can give her a call if you want?"

"I would appreciate that, Artie." Dick says.

Artemis stands up and walks to the kitchen, to make the phone call.

Dick looks back at Wally to see an evil grin on his face. "What?" Dick asks.

"So?" Wally asks.

* * *

Artemis is about to hang up, when the phone is finally answered. "Hello?" She hears her mother say.

"Hi, Mom." Artemis says. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Sweetie; how are you? Is everything alright?" Her mom asks.

"Yes, mom; everything is fine." She replies.

"Oh, because you normally call me on Tuesday night." Her mom says.

"I know; I just have a visitor here, from my 'old job'." Artemis says, emphasizing 'old job'. "And he had some questions for you."

"Is it about your father, because I haven't heard from him in years?" Her mother asks.

"No; it's not about dad." Artemis replies. "And it's not about Jade either; although, did you know that she was nearly killed last year?"

"You mean the incident in Vietnam?" Her mother asks. "Yes, she told me all about it."

"What? When? How come no one told me?" Artemis asks.

"Oh, she told me shortly after returning to America; she's actually been calling me every couple of weeks, or so, now, and we've been mending bridges." Her mother replies. "I assumed she had already told you about it; since she was always closer to you than she was to me."

"No, she never told me." Artemis says, shaking her head. "But to get back on topic..."

"You can tell your friend that I'll be happy to answer any questions he may have, and that he's welcome to drop by at any time." Her mother says.

"Thanks, mom; I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that." Artemis says. "Well, I should get back to the guys; if I leave them alone for too long, something bad is bound to happen."

"Okay, Dear." Her mother says. "Tell Wally I said hi."

"I will, Mom. I'll call you Tuesday, so we can talk." Artemis says. "Love you."

"I love you too, Artemis." Her mom replies, hanging up the phone.

Artemis hangs up the phone and returns to the living room to find that Dick has Wally in a headlock, and that Wally is almost purple.

"What's going on here?" She asks, planting her hands on her hips, and glaring at the two.

"Nothing." Dick replies, releasing Wally, and elbowing him in the arm. "Right, Wally; we were just messing around."

"Hunh?" Wally says, gasping for air. "Oh, yeah; nothing." He replies.

"Right?" Artemis says, crossing her arms. "Well, Dick, my mom says you can drop by anytime, and she'll be happy to answer any questions you may have."

"Thanks, Artie." Dick says, stepping forward, and hugging her. "You're the best. I don't know what Wally did to deserve someone as amazing as you."

"Un-hunh." Artemis replies, hugging him back, and glaring at Wally; he squirms in place.

Dick releases her, and steps back towards the door. "I hate to just pop in and run like this, but I need to get back to Gotham as soon as I can; thanks again Artie." Then he glances at Wally before stepping out and closing the door.

Artemis brings her full attention to Wally, and he laughs nervously. "So, you might as well tell me now, because you know I'll find out eventually. And the longer it takes, the harder it'll be for you."

* * *

As soon as he closes the door behind him, Dick starts running down the hall and out into the street.

He barely makes it to the curb before he can hear Artemis' scream. "He did what?"

**A/N:** The incident that is being referenced here is my other story "_**Cat's Play**_". It's not needed to understand what is going on in this story, but you might enjoy it; so pop on over whenever I get around to posting it if you want to find out what has Artemis all worked up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hunted**

**Chapter.8.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 11, 2015 – 10:23 EST**_

Clouds and rain are almost always in the forecast for Gotham, and today was no different. Dick had forgotten to bring an umbrella with him; so as he exits the Zeta-tube located near Artemis' mother's place, he finds himself in a downpour with no protection.

"Just great." Dick says, ducking back into the phone booth. "I guess I can make a run for it."

He steps back out into the rain, and starts running down the alley, until he gets to the street, where he turns right, and continues running.

It isn't long before he comes to the right address, and he rings the doorbell. It's only a matter of time before he is buzzed in, but he's now completely soaked.

He walks up to the door, and knocks, stepping back to allow whoever is inside to see him properly through the peephole.

A Vietnamese woman in a wheelchair opens the door. "Yes, how can I help you?" She asks.

"Hello, Miss Nguyen, I'm Artemis' friend; I believe she told you about me." Dick replies.

"Well that certainly was fast." She says, rolling back, and inviting him in. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you until later on today."

Dick walks in and closes the door behind him. "I'm sorry; it's just something that is bothering me, and I was hoping you might have some answers."

"Oh, it's no trouble, young man; I don't get many visitors since Artemis moved away to college." She says. "Let me get you a towel to dry off."

Dick follows her down the hall, where she grabs a towel from a closet and hands it too him. "Thanks you, Miss Nguyen." He says, using the towel to dry his hair. "I really appreciate you agreeing to meet with me."

"It's no trouble." She says, leading him into the kitchen, where she rolls up to her place at the table, and indicates for him to join her.

He sits down, letting the towel rest on his shoulders. "I'll try to be brief." Dick says. "What do you know about a new person running around Gotham calling themselves Huntress?"

The look of shock on her face is all the answer Dick needs. "What are you talking about?" She asks. "Are you trying to say that someone is using my old name?"

"Yes, and by your reaction I can tell you don't know who they might be." Dick replies, standing up. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Miss Nguyen; I'll be going now."

"Wait." She says, reaching out and grabbing his arm. "I need to know."

Dick sits back down. "I don't know much about her, but she has told me that her name is Huntress. Her costume is nowhere near what yours looked like, and she seems to be on some personal vendetta against organized crime. She's about 5'10", black hair, blue eyes, wears purple, and uses a crossbow. Does that sound like anybody you might know? Someone who knew about your past, and might use your name for themselves?"

"No; I'm sorry." She replies. "Like I said, I don't get many visitors, and none of them match that description."

"Alright then." Dick says, standing back up. "I knew it was a long shot, but I just had to ask to be sure. Thank you for your time."

"I'm sorry that I wasn't any more help." She says, following him to the front door.

"You were plenty helpful, Miss Nguyen. I'm sorry if I dragged up any bad memories." Dick says.

"That's all right, Dear." She replies, reaching out and taking his hand. "And thank you for saving my daughter, Jade, last year."

Now it's Dick's turn to be shocked. "What? How?"

"Jade told me about what happened, and when Artemis brought it up; I figured you might be the young man who saved her." She replies, squeezing his hand gently. "Plus you match the description of her savior; although, she said she never got to see your eyes."

Dick subconsciously adjusts his sunglasses. "Ah, yeah; secret ID, and all." He says.

"You don't have to worry about little old me, Dear; my days of crime are far behind me." She says with a smile.

Dick smiles, and nods, before opening the door and stepping into the hall.

He quickly makes his way back to the phone booth, where he uses the Zeta-tube to return to the Batcave.

* * *

Tim walks down to the Batcave after school, a jump in his step at it finally being Friday, and being allowed to go on patrol that night. He finds Dick sitting at the computer, staring at the screen.

"Hey, Dick, what you staring at?" Tim asks, walking over to the locker room to get changed.

"I'm just trying to figure out who this Huntress can possibly be." Dick replies. "I talked to Artemis and her mom, and neither of them knows who it is."

"How are they?" Tim asks, stepping out wearing his Robin costume.

"They're fine." Dick replies. "Although Artemis might not be too happy to see me next time." he mumbles.

Robin walks over to the training dummies, and starts working out.

"I just can't shake the feeling that I should be able to figure this one out." Dick says. "I'm usually good at this stuff."

"Maybe you should just sleep with her." Robin jokes. "That way you'll be able to see her without the mask."

"Now who's the comedian?" Dick asks, rubbing his eyes. "I hate not being able to figure this out."

"Well, what does Bruce have to say? Does he have any leads?" Robin asks, punching and kicking in what seems like a random pattern, but is actually a well-choreographed routine set up to stretch and warm up his muscles.

"He doesn't have anything to say; he hasn't returned from the Watchtower since last night." Dick says. "I think I'm on my own with this one for now."

"You're not alone; you have me and Barbara." Robin says. "Heck you have an entire team at your disposal."

"You know I'm not allowed to use the Team for my own personal reasons; only League sanctioned missions." Dick replies, spinning around to watch Robin. "And until I know for sure that she is safe, I want to limit yours and Babs' exposure."

"Wait; you're not benching me tonight, are you?" Robin says, stopping his routine to try and glare at Dick. "Because I need to get out there; I'm going crazy staying home."

"You've only missed two days of patrol because I snuck you out Wednesday night." Dick says. "And, no; I'm not benching you tonight. But I do want you to limit your patrol to Uptown and Midtown with Babs."

"Why are you limiting our patrol?" Robin asks. "Bruce never sections off the city like that."

"Well, I'm not Bruce. And since he's not here to call the shots tonight; we do it my way, or not at all." Dick replies, crossing his arms, and glaring at Robin.

Robin quickly looks away from Dick's own version of the Bat-glare, and mumbles incoherently.

At that moment, Barbara joins them in the cave, and sees Dick glaring at Robin, while Robin continues his warm-up routine. "What's going on?" She asks.

"Tim's just upset because I told him that I want the two of you to limit your patrol to Uptown and Midtown tonight." Dick replies.

"But Bruce never..." She starts to say, but when Dick snaps his head around to glare at her, she shuts up, and quickly heads to the locker room to get ready.

Batgirl soon joins Robin on the training floor, while Dick turns back to the computer.

"What's his problem?" She whispers to Robin, as she turns Robin's routine into a dance of fists and feet.

"He's got his spandex in a bunch because he can't figure out the I.D. of this new girl." Robin replies.

Suddenly Dick is standing behind Robin, with a wicked smile on his face. "I don't wear spandex, Little Bird. But you still do."

Before Robin can turn around, Dick grabs the waist of his pants and yanks them up as hard as he can, causing Robin to scream out in surprise and pain, as he is given a Nightwing style wedgie.

Batgirl tries, but fails to contain her laughter, as Dick runs away, leaving Robin there, trying to pull his pants out of his crack, and yelling, "I'll get you for this, Dick!"

Once he finally has his pants back in place, and Batgirl stops laughing, she asks, "Where did he run off to?"

Robin, looking grumpy, and embarrassed, mumbles a reply that she doesn't hear.

"What did you say?" She asks.

"Ah, he went on a date." He says a little louder, looking away from her; not wanting to see her reaction.

"Well, good for him." She replies, but Robin can tell that there is no actual happiness in her tone. "It's been a while since he went on a date; he needs to get out there."

Robin glances over his shoulder to see Batgirl perform a spin kick, so hard, to the head of a dummy that the head actually comes off, and falls to the floor.

Before he can say anything, she walks away from the training floor, and into the locker room; where she slams the door, and locks it.

"Oh yeah, no tension at all between the two of them." Robin mumbles to himself, as he continues his work-out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hunted**

**Chapter.9.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 11, 2015 – 19:11 EST**_

Helena pulls up to the restaurant in her Ferrari, and looks at her watch. She was late, and she hated being late. She wanted to be a teacher, after all, and it didn't set a good example to her students if she made a habit of being late. She also wouldn't be setting a good example if the young girls saw her dressed the way she was; short black dress, with plenty of cleavage, and high heels that could break her ankle if she slipped.

She hands her keys to the valet, and the look on his face tells her that she's going to have a few extra miles put on her odometer before dinner is over.

She walks in and looks around for her date, but doesn't see him immediately.

"May I help you, Miss?" The Hostess asks.

"I'm supposed to meet someone here for dinner; but I'm a little late, and I don't see him." Helena replies.

"Why don't you tell me their name, and I'll check my reservation list?" The Hostess asks.

"Uh, Grayson; Dick Grayson." Helena replies.

The Hostess doesn't even look at her list. "Oh, he's not down here; he's upstairs in the VIP section." She waves over one of the waitresses, and says, "Would you escort the lady upstairs to Mr. Grayson's table, please."

"Right this way, Miss." The waitress says, leading the way through the restaurant, and up the stairs in the back. They climb up to an upper level, that isn't visible from below, and the waitress leads her down a line of private booths; most of which are empty.

"Here we are." The waitress says, stopping in front of the last booth, and indicating for Helena to take a seat.

Helena gets to the booth, just as Dick is stepping out to stand up. "Helena." He says, smiling.

"Sorry I'm late." She says, sliding into the booth.

Dick quickly joins her, oblivious to the look he is getting from the waitress; but Helena catches it. She also catches the look of jealously she receives from the waitress as she walks away, and it makes her smile, for some perverse reason.

"No problem." Dick says. "I was worried you might not show up at all."

"Now, why would I do that?" She asks.

"Oh, I don't know; to maybe get me to leave you alone." Dick says. "You definitely didn't seem that forthcoming at our first meeting."

"Forthcoming? You wouldn't be using big words to try and impress someone who is trying to become a teacher; would you?" She asks, smiling even wider.

Dick laughs, and says, "My take on the English language might make teachers cry, if they ever heard me use it regularly. In fact, my grade 9 English teacher had to have a talk with Bruce about my liberal interpretation of words."

"Really? I would like to hear about your 'liberal interpretation'." She says, leaning forward.

* * *

"So, if dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster?" Dick says, as they finish their meals.

"Oh my God." Helena says, trying not to laugh. "I don't know what I'd do if a student came up to me and told me any of that; laugh or cry."

"Yeah; that seemed to be the dilemma most of my teachers faced." Dick says, leaning back. "Alfred must have nearly had a stroke dozens of times."

"Alfred?" Helena asks, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers.

"Ah, yeah; the Wayne family Butler." Dick replies, looking a little ashamed. "He's more than a butler, really; he's like family. He raised Bruce when his parents died, and he helped raise me and Tim. He's kind of like a dad to us all; he's special."

"He sounds like a wonderful person." She replies.

"He is." Dick says, smiling again. "But he's very strict when it comes to manners and proper speech; which is why he's probably got a few more gray hairs from raising me."

Their waiter collects their plates, and asks, "Will that be all, or should I bring over the dessert menu?"

Dick looks at Helena, who says, "No dessert; thank you."

"Well then, I hope everything was satisfactory, and that we see you again, soon." The waiter says, bowing and walking away.

Dick stands up and offers her his hand.

She takes his hand, and lets him help her up. "Don't we have to pay?" She asks, a little confused, as Dick starts to lead her down the stairs.

"Bruce Wayne owns the place; so we eat for free." Dick replies.

"He owns the restaurant?" She asks.

"He owns the whole building, and all the businesses in it." Dick replies.

"Wow." She says.

They walk outside, and Helena gives the valet her ticket for her car. When she sees that Dick doesn't give a ticket she asks, "Where's your car?"

"I didn't come by car." He replies. When he sees her confused look, and smiles, and says, "Helipad on the roof."

"My, aren't we the fortunate one?" She says, with a smile. "Did you fly it yourself; or does Mr. Wayne employ a private helicopter pilot?"

"I wish I could fly it, but I'm still working on my pilot's license; helicopter license is next." Dick replies, smiling at her shocked face. "Alfred flew me in; I told you he was special."

Her Ferrari stops next to them, and she accepts her keys back; the valet waving off her tip.

"Hop in." She says, walking around to the driver's side.

Dick climbs into the passenger seat, and buckles up.

Helena puts the car into drive, and takes off.

Dick can't but help be distracted by the fact that her dress, which was already short, is showing a lot more leg as she drives. He's so distracted, in fact, that he doesn't even realize that they're not at Wayne Manor when she pulls over. "Where are we?" He asks, looking out the window.

"My place." She replies, turning off the car. "I figured we could have our dessert here; no reason the night has to end yet."

He turns to look at her, and sees her biting her lower lip. She reaches over and places her hand on his leg, and the 18 year old part of his brain reacts, as he leans over and captures her lips in a kiss.

The kiss starts to get heated, and they finally break apart. "Let's continue this inside." Helena says.

They both get out of the car and start to walk towards her front door, when Dick suddenly stops.

Helena unlocks her door, and turns around to see Dick still standing halfway between her car and her house. "You coming?" She asks, playfully.

But his face is serious, even a little sad, as he replies, "No; I can't."

"What?" She asks, a little bit put off by his answer.

"I can't go in there with you." He replies.

"Why?" She asks, her mood starting to change.

"Because I promised Tim I wouldn't do anything stupid." Dick replies.

"So this is stupid?" She asks, anger in her voice.

"No, it's not...well, I mean, yes; but no." Dick stammers. "Tim is afraid that if I took this too far, too fast, and things ended up not working out, then it might get uncomfortable for you both at school."

"I'm a grown woman and can handle myself just fine." She says, crossing her arms on front of her. "Timothy doesn't need to worry about me."

"It's not you he's worried about." Dick says. "Well he is, but not because he doesn't think you can't handle yourself; it's more because of me. I don't have a very good history with women, and he's afraid I'll ruin this too."

"I guess I can respect that." She says, after a brief pause. "I won't lie, and tell you that I'm not frustrated, but I understand where you're coming from."

"I would still like the chance to spend more time with you; if you're still interested?" He says, trying to smile.

"Well I had planned on spending a lot more time with you tonight." She replies, smiling. "But I guess we can see each other again."

"I'd like that." He replies.

She walks over to him, seductively swaying her hips. "So there's nothing I can do to convince you to come inside?" She asks.

He drops his head, and sighs. "I'm afraid not." He replies.

"Are you sure?" She asks, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulling him into another heated kiss; grinding herself against him. When they break the kiss, she smiles, and says, "It feels like you want to come inside."

"I really do." Dick replies. "But I really can't." He steps back, and lets out another huge sigh.

"Well, your loss, Sailor; I was going to rock your world tonight." She says, walking backwards to her door. "See you around Dick."

He watches as she closes the door, every fiber in his being screaming out for him to rush over before she locks it, and take her up on her offer; but that little voice in the back of his head that sounds a heck of a lot like Tim keeps him rooted in place.

After several moments of standing there, his body shaking from his internal struggle, he finally manages to turn around and start walking away.

Once he is at the end of her block, he looks at his watch. "Patrol; that's what I need to do." He mumbles to himself. Making sure no one is around, he ducks into an alley, and signals for pickup.

Minutes later, he is aboard the Batwing, and heading back to the cave to get changed.

* * *

Helena leans back against the door, trying to catch her breath. She had tried a little too hard to convince Dick to come inside that she actually worked herself up. "Great; what am I going to do now?" She mumbles to herself. She looks over at the mantle over her fireplace, and sees a picture of her family before the 'incident'.

"I just thought of a great way to release some of this energy." She says, standing up straight, and heading to her bedroom.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hunted**

**Chapter.10.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 12, 2015 – 00:56 EST**_

The night is pretty quiet, and Nightwing finds himself getting bored; something he doesn't need right now. He wants the distraction of crime fighting; anything to take his mind off of his date with Helena, and how it could have ended.

"What have we here?" He asks himself, as he changes direction, and swings down to land on the roof of the same theater as the night before. He stealthily approaches the figure in the shadows, and grabs them, covering their mouth with his hand. "Are you crazy; coming to the same place two nights in a row?" He asks.

Huntress steps away as he releases her, and turns to face him. "What the hell was that about? I could have attacked you." She asks.

"Don't answer my question with a question of your own." He says, planting his hands on his hips, and glaring at her.

"I came back to see if I could find out more about Mandragora's whereabouts." She replies.

"After we took down four of his men last night, this is the last place you should be." He says. "If we leave them alone for a few days, they're likely to believe that it was random bad luck that four of their number got caught. But if they catch wind of us, Mandragora's will be gone faster than the Flash can eat a plate of cookies."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to stand by and let them continue to live their lives of crime, while innocents suffer." She says, glaring back at him, but it's nowhere near as effective as his.

"I understand, and don't like it either; but sometimes you have to let the little fish swim free when you're trying to catch the big one." Nightwing replies. He can see the anger in her face, and his own need for action overrides his sense. "Alright, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look inside, and see if we can find anything." He says, sighing. "I'll get the door."

He walks past her, and starts hacking the security system. "Thank you." She says, as he opens the door, and leads the way.

"Just be thankful that it's not Batman that you've been dealing with; because he would have shut you down that first night." Nightwing replies, as they search the rooms in the hallway.

She stops searching and looks at him. "And why haven't you tried to shut me down?" She asks.

He looks up from the desk he's searching, and smiles. "I've always been a sucker for a pretty girl in a skin tight costume." He replies.

He just catches her blush, before she turns her back to him to continue her searching. "Can you ever have a serious conversation; or do you always joke around?" She asks.

"What makes you think I'm not being serious?" He replies.

"Now who's answering a question with a question?" She asks.

"Okay; serious." He says, standing up straight and looking at her. "I didn't shut you down because I needed more information. I didn't know if you were one of the good guys or not."

She stops searching, and turns to face him. "And what have you concluded?" She asks.

"I think that you have good intentions, but you lack the training, and are a little too focused on your target." He replies. "You almost have tunnel vision when it comes to Mandragora."

"That's because it's personal." She replies.

"I understand that; trust me, I do." He says. "But you can't let a personal vendetta stop you from doing the good work you can do."

"I'm not in this to be some kind of hero like you or Batman; I just want Mandragora to pay, and then I'm out." She says, turning around.

He steps forward and grabs her arm. "Huntress, when you finally get the vengeance you've been looking for, you'll realize just how hollow it is."

"What would you know?" She asks, yanking her arm free. "He killed my family."

"I know because someone killed my family when I was a kid." He says. "And I wanted, what I thought was, justice; but it was only vengeance. Batman showed me the difference, and then let me choose my own way when we finally caught the man who did it."

"Why are you telling me this?" She asks, not looking at him, for fear that he'll see the tears in her eyes.

"Because I see myself in you; and want to give you what Batman gave me." He says, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She quickly wipes the tears away, and says, "So, you see yourself inside me, eh? What else have you been fantasizing about?"

Nightwing actually seems flustered, as he drops his hand, and starts sputtering. "I don't...I haven't...I...I..."

"Relax, Nightwing." She says, turning around to face him. "I won't tell the Bat." She says, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"We should head back to the catwalks and see if anyone is meeting tonight." He says, stepping back, and heading back into the hallway.

Huntress joins him on the catwalk, and leans over his shoulder to see the scene below. "Looks like we may have spooked them." She whispers.

"There are definitely a lot more of them than there was last night." Nightwing replies. "Let's see what they're talking about." He pulls out a tiny device that looks like a futuristic gun, but when he pulls the trigger, the end opens up into a miniature satellite dish.

"What's that?" She asks.

"A listening device." He replies. "Are you wearing the communication device I gave you?"

"Yeah." She replies.

"Turn it on; I'll broadcast it over the frequency I set yours too." He says, making an adjustment to the listening device before tapping his ear.

"...said it was the Bat." One of the men says.

"He's full of it." One of the other guys says. "Franco and Angelo's lawyer told me that they said it was the other one. What's his name; Nightshade?"

"His names Batwing, you mook." Another guy says.

"No that's the plane, Sal; he's name Nightwing." Someone else says.

"Who cares what his name is? The boss wants to know what we're going to do about it." The first guy says. "He doesn't want the Bat, or any of them weirdos, sticking their noses in our business; not now"

"So, what does he want us to do?" Another guy asks.

"He wants us to find out if this was just a fluke, or have we been targeted by the Bat." The first guy says.

"And how is we supposed to do that?" One of them asks.

"The boss called in a specialist to help us." The first guy says. "He'll be here by Monday."

"What are we supposed to do 'til then?" One of the guys asks. "We could all be caught by Monday."

"We go about business as usual." The first guy says. "But we work in groups; safety in numbers, and all." The men all look at each other and nod. "Now if nobody has anything more to add, we need to discuss the push that Falcone is making on the boss's turf."

Nightwing puts the listening device away, and stares down at the gathering.

"They don't know for sure it was us." Huntress whispers. "That's good."

"Yeah, but this 'specialist' they mentioned has me worried. I know the usual specialists hired by the crime bosses in Gotham, but Mandragora is a little before my time; I have no clue what we may be up against." He says.

"What do we do now?" She asks, leaning on his shoulders to get a better look.

Nightwing sees motion just below them, away from the large table of men, and barely has time to toss Huntress down, and roll on top of her, before gunfire erupts, pinging off the metal edge they were just kneeling at.

Within seconds, more gunfire erupts, as everyone with a weapon draws it and starts firing in the direction the first guy is firing.

"Aren't you the forward one?" She says, from underneath Nightwing.

Nightwing leans closer, and kisses her, as bullets fly around them.

"I guess you like a little danger." She says, as the kiss ends. She pulls him in for another kiss, but stops, and grunts in pain, as something hits her leg.

"You're hit." Nightwing says, the moment lost. "We need to get you out of here. Hold on to me."

She wraps her arms around his neck, and pulls herself closer, as he pulls her along underneath him. He gets to the end of the catwalk, just as the shooting stops.

"Let's go." He says, pulling her into the hallway, before standing up, and scooping her in his arms.

He ducks into one of the rooms, and looks for a good hiding spot. "Can you crawl into the ventilation system?" He asks.

"Yeah, probably." She replies.

He carries her over to the grate, and pulls it open. She awkwardly crawls in, her hand covering her thigh, where she is injured.

He bends down to close the grate, and see asks, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see if they try to follow us, and if they do; I'm going to have to stop them." He replies, closing the grate and disappearing.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I saw something up here." The guy who had started shooting says, from the opposite end of the catwalk.

"Well there ain't nothing up here, Vinny." Another guy standing next to him says. "Let's get back downstairs."

The second guy turns around and disappears, while the first guy scratches his head. "I'm sure I saw something."

Then he turns and follows the first guy.

In the shadows of the rafters, Nightwing puts away the two wingdings he has in his hands, and makes his way back to the door leading to the hallway to the roof.

* * *

Huntress is debating whether or not to leave her hiding spot, and make a run for it, or wait for Nightwing to return; that is if he does return, and it's not Mandragora's men finding her.

Then the grate opens, and Nightwing's concerned face appears. "Let's go." He says, holding out a hand.

She takes his hand, and he pulls her out of the ventilation system, before scooping her up in his arms again.

"I'm sorry, but there's no time to look at your wound yet; we need to get to safety first." He says.

"Okay." She replies.

He carries her to the roof, where he sets her down long enough to re-enable the security system.

"I'll try to make this as smooth as I can." He says, firing a line into a neighboring building. "Hold on tight."

She wraps her arms around his neck, and holds on for dear life, and he jumps off the roof, and swings them down into the alley.

He adjusts her so that he is carrying her bridal style again, and starts running down the alley, away from the theater. When he gets to an intersecting alley, he turns right, and stops next to a garage door. He presses a button on his gauntlet, and the door opens, revealing the Batmobile.

He places her in the passenger seat, and climbs into the driver seat.

"You just happened to have this sitting here?" She asks, wincing as she shifts in her seat.

"I may have thought that you might try something here tonight, and prepared." He replies.

He starts the engine, and takes off into the night.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hunted**

**Chapter.11.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 12, 2015 – 02:42 EST**_

Nightwing pulls the Batmobile into another garage, and closes the door behind them. He gets out and walks around the car to help Huntress.

"Where are we now?" She asks.

"A safe-house." Nightwing replies. "We have several of them scattered around Gotham."

He scoops her up in his arms, and carries her into the living area, which is nothing more than a sparsely furnished bedroom, with a bathroom off to the side.

He places her on the edge of the bed, and bends down. "Let me take a look at it." He says, removing her hand, and seeing blood. He removes a small knife from his utility belt, and cuts through the material, ripping it around her leg, and pulling it down to her knee.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"I need to get a better look at the wound." He says, reaching up, and pushing her down. "Lie down; it'll help slow down the blood flow."

He carefully looks at the wound, and sees a small puncture hole on the outside of her thigh. He lifts her leg up slightly, and sees a small puncture hole not far from the first. "The bullet went clean through; doesn't look like it did any real damage."

"Well it still hurts like hell." She complains. "Do you have anything for the pain?"

He reaches into his utility belt and pulls out a syringe. "I have this." He says, holding it up for her to see.

"What is it?" She asks.

"A little cocktail Batman cooked up; part pain killer, part sedative. It won't be enough to knock you out, but you'll definitely feel something." He says.

"Please." She says.

He stands up and takes her arm. He rips through the sleeve, and exposes her arm.

"You know there are better ways to get me out of my costume?" She says.

He injects her with the syringe and kneels back down near her injured leg.

"Whoa; that works fast." She says.

"In our line of work, it has too. We don't have the luxury of time very often." He replies. "Just lie back, and try to relax."

He taps the side of his mask, activating the zoom function, and uses it to better examine the wound. "Doesn't look like there is any foreign contamination." He mumbles to himself. "Heat from the bullet seems to have killed any bacteria. Muscle seems to be intake; just an in and out flesh wound. You are one lucky lady." He taps his mask, returning his vision to normal, and looks up at her to find her eyes closed.

"Yeah, lucky." She replies.

"I'm going to get the first aid kit in the bathroom, as well as something to clean the wound. Then I'll stitch it up, and you should be good to go." He says, standing up.

He walks over to the bathroom, and presses a secret tile, opening up a hidden compartment with extra costumes, weapons, and a full first aid kit. Grabbing the first aid kit, and a couple of towels, he closes the compartment and heads back into the other room.

He sets the kit on the floor, and opens the lid. He removes the bottle of distilled water, and pours some of it onto one of the towels. Carefully, he starts cleaning as much of the blood from her leg as he can. Then he takes the suture kit, and threads the suture. "This might pinch a little bit." He says.

Huntress only grunts in reply.

Being as careful as he can, he slowly inserts the suture, just like Alfred taught him to do, pulling the thread through until the knot touches her skin. Only then does he make a connecting hole on the opposite side of the wound, and gently pull the skin together.

Just to be safe, he makes 3 stitches on both the entrance and exit wounds. Then he takes the towel, and washes away the remaining blood, before grabbing a roll of gauze, and wrapping it around her thigh several times.

With that done, he collects the first aid kit, and heads back into the bathroom. He closes the door, and removes his costume, examining himself in the mirror for any injuries.

Seeing that he is clean, he places the first aid kit away, and heads back into the other room.

Huntress is sitting up, and trying to remove her boot.

He rushes over to the bed, and kneels down. "Let me help you with that." He says, reaching down, and slowly pulling her boot off. "You lost quite a bit of blood, and are still under the influence of the shot I gave you."

"I just...I need to get out of this." She says, unhooking her cape, and dropping it off the side of the bed. "Please help me."

"Okay." Nightwing says, removing her other boot, while she pulls off her gloves.

She unbuckles her belt, and drops it on the floor with the rest of her gear.

She lies back and starts to slide, what's left of, her pants off.

"Watch out for the stitches." Nightwing says, reaching up and stopping her.

"Please." Is all she says.

She removes her hands, and lets Nightwing grab the waistband. He slowly pulls down her pants, carefully lifting the material so that it doesn't touch the gauze covering the stitches, before sliding it the rest of the way off, and placing it aside.

She sits up, and starts to lift her top off. Nightwing forces himself to turn away, and not look at her.

"You don't have to be so shy." She says. "It's not like the spandex leaves much to the imagination."

He feels her pinch his butt, and he jumps up, instinctively spinning around; and regretting that he does. Because when he does turn around, he finds Huntress sitting there wearing nothing but a matching set of black underwear, and her mask.

"Like what you see?" She asks, seductively.

"Ah..." Is all that comes out of his mouth, as he finds himself staring, despite himself.

"I'll take that as a yes." She says, smiling, as she reaches forward and takes his hand. She pulls him closer to the bed, and says, "Why don't you get out of that stuffy costume, and join me in bed? Let me thank my hero, properly."

His resolve is slowly melting away, and that voice that sounds like Tim is starting to join in with the other voices telling him to go for it.

"You can even keep the mask on, if you want." She says, pulling him down until his face is inches from hers. "It's kind of kinky that way; I like it."

The last bit of restraint he has left disappears, and he presses his lips to hers.

* * *

He awakens some time later, and reaches up to feel his mask still in place, but notices that bits and pieces of his costume are scattered around the room. He glances over at Huntress and is surprised to see that her mask is off, and sitting on the nightstand. She has her back to him, so he gently pulls on her shoulder, until she turns around to face him.

She opens her eyes, and smiles. "Sorry, Hero; but I don't think I can go again just yet. Maybe after a little more rest." She says.

He tries to keep the surprise from his face, and smiles back. "I was actually just seeing if you were in any pain."

"Well, now that you mention it, I am a little sore." She replies, smiling at him. "You were quite the animal last night."

He can't help but keep the blush from his face. "I was referring to the gunshot wound." He says.

"Oh that." She says, lifting the blanket up and exposing her leg. "Feels good actually; I think that shot you gave me is still working."

"Good." He says. "If it starts to hurt, let me know and I'll go grab you some standard pain killers from the bathroom."

"Will do, Hero." She says, leaning over and giving him a kiss. "But right now, I need my rest."

She lies back down, and closes her eyes.

* * *

Batman has finally returned to Gotham, and is currently sitting in the Batcave, watching Robin train.

The Batmobile drives in, and comes to a stop. Nightwing climbs out, and starts walking towards Batman.

"Dude, where were you last night?" Robin asks, taking a break from his target practice.

"I traced the Batmobile to our safe-house over in West Harlow." Batman says. "Did something happen?"

Nightwing looks from Batman to Robin, and then back to Batman. "I found out who Huntress really is." He replies.

"How? Did you sleep with her?" Robin asks, laughing. But his laughter stops when he sees the serious look on Nightwing's face. "Dude, I was only kidding about that last night; I didn't mean that you should actually sleep with her."

"It's Helena." Nightwing says.

"My teacher?" Robin asks, shocked.

"Yeah; Helena Bertinelli. Only surviving member of the Bertinelli family that was killed by Stefano Mandragora ten years ago." Nightwing replies.

"I knew her name sounded familiar." Robin says, rushing over to his backpack, and removing a notebook. He flips to the last page, and looks at the name he wrote there the first day of class. "Damn, I wanted to look her up, and forgot."

"Well, it doesn't matter now." Batman says. "You couldn't have known." He turns back to Nightwing. "You're sure?"

"Yeah; I'm sure." Nightwing replies. "Helena Bertinelli is the Huntress."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hunted**

**Chapter.12.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 14, 2015 – 07:39 EST**_

Nightwing spends the next two nights watching Helena's house, ready to follow her if the Huntress makes an appearance. And Dick Grayson spends the next two days trying to avoid Helena at all costs; even going so far as to have Alfred lie to her when she calls the house.

As the sun begins to rise, Monday morning, Nightwing gets ready to leave his hiding spot, and head home. He knows that she'll be heading out for her day job soon, and figures he can get some rest before following her after school.

Just as he is about to leave, he sees her Ferrari drive away. He also notices that a car that had been parked nearby, all night, starts and takes off after her, but he didn't see anyone approach the car; so he quickly realizes that someone else was watching her place all night too. And knowing her family's history, and enemies, he knows that he can't just let this go.

Dropping down onto his motorcycle, he flips on the computer, activating the tracer he planted on Helena's car. Planning out his route, he takes off, hoping to make it to her before anything happens.

He presses another button, and calls Tim.

"Hey Dick; what's up?" Tim asks.

"Tim! Someone is following Helena, and I have a pretty good idea who they work for." Nightwing says. "I want you to stay away from the front of the school, and the teacher's parking lot; just in case."

"Do you need any help?" Tim asks. "I can change quickly, and be there in no time."

"No. If Robin shows up, and Tim Drake is not in class, people might start to wonder." Nightwing replies. "I can handle this myself; I just want to make sure you're safe."

He ends the call, and picks up his speed, wanting to intercept them before they arrive at the school. He catches a glimpse of her Ferrari as he turns the corner, and realizes that it's going to be close.

One last turn, putting him on the road to the school, and he sees that he won't get to them before they reach the school; so he can only hope that nothing happens before he gets there.

Helena's Ferrari continues into the teacher's parking lot, but the mystery car stops in front of the school. The door opens, and someone steps out, giving Nightwing his first view of the driver; a man dressed in a black suit, wearing a ski mask.

He sees Nightwing coming towards him, almost as if he is expecting it, and pulls out a handgun with a silencer attached. Pointing it at Nightwing, he fires a couple of rounds that ping against the armor plating in front.

Ducking down to provide as little a profile as possible, Nightwing prepares to make his move. Pressing the button to hand over control of the bike to the on-board computer, he plants his feet, and launches himself at the gunman.

But the gunman is one step ahead of him, as he rolls over the hood, causing Nightwing to miss, and come to a rolling stop on the pavement.

Someone finally notices that something is going on, as a girl screams. Instantly, her scream is matched by others, as everyone around sees the masked gunman squaring off against Nightwing.

Nightwing chargers the gunman, needing to keep the gunman focused on him, and not give him time to target any of the innocent bystanders.

But the gunman is once again one step ahead, as he fires his gun in Nightwing's direction, forcing him to abort his charge, and duck to the side.

When Nightwing recovers and gets ready to charge again, he pauses; seeing that the gunman has grabbed one of the bystanders, and is holding them hostage in front of him; the bystander just so happening to be Tim's friend Stephanie.

"Don't move, Hero." The gunman says. "Or I blow her brains all out."

Nightwing freezes in place, wishing he had taken the time to prepare a Wingding or two, but finding himself empty handed in the middle of the street. "What do you want?" He asks, stalling for time.

"Nothing from you, Hero; other than your cooperation right now." The gunman replies.

"Let the girl go." Nightwing says.

"Does that ever really work?" The gunman asks. "I mean, who would be stupid enough to let their only bargaining chip go? No, the girl stays with me."

Nightwing doesn't reply, because his attention is drawn to what is going on behind the gunman; Tim is trying to sneak up on him.

"Don't be stupid, Tim." He mumbles to himself. "Stay out of this."

The gunman must notice that Nightwing is distracted, because he turns just as Tim is within striking distance, and sees him. He swings his arm, and smacks Tim in the side of the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him down. "No heroics, little boy." The gunman says.

Nightwing takes the momentary distraction to draw a Wingding and throw it at the gunman.

Two things happen at the same time; the Wingding hits the gunman's forearm, causing him to lose his grip on the gun and drop it, and Stephanie bites down on his other hand, causing him to release her. But she doesn't get far, as he grabs her with the hand that had been holding the gun.

Nightwing, however, charges again, hoping to get to the gunman before he harms Stephanie. When, out of nowhere, the gunman pulls out a second gun with his other hand, points it at Nightwing, and fires.

Nightwing barely has time to start dodging as the bullet slams into his left shoulder, spinning him around, before he collapses on the ground.

He hears screams, and tires screeching, before he is finally able to open his eyes. His sits up, his left side hurting worse than any pain he has ever felt, and looks around. His vision is blurry, but he can make out Tim kneeling on all fours, several feet from him. He doesn't see the gunman, or his car, and that seems to be enough to focus his vision, and get him moving.

He stands up and catches a glimpse of the gunman's car as it turns the corner.

"He took her." Tim manages to say, and Nightwing can hear the physical and emotional pain in his voice.

"I'll get her back; I promise." Nightwing replies, pressing a button on his gauntlet, calling back his bike.

* * *

Stephanie had always wanted to have a little more excitement in her life, but being kidnapped at gunpoint was never what she had had in mind.

She had been forced into the passenger seat, and told to stay down, by the masked gunman. Despite the appearance of Nightwing, he seemed calm, and in control; almost as if he had been expecting it.

She curls up into a ball underneath the glove compartment, as he drives away, at speeds that can't be safe.

After a short while, he stops, and the shadows tell her that they are either in an alley, or underground somewhere.

"Get up." He says, grabbing her arm, and yanking her into the seat. "Don't move." He pulls a black sack out from his pocket, and tosses it to her. "Put that over your head." He instructs her, waving his gun in her face.

She puts the bag on, her fear rising from her inability to see.

"Hold your hands out; wrists together." He says.

She is now too afraid to even think of resisting in any way, so she does as told.

She feels something cold and hard placed around her wrists. Then with the sound of zip ties being tightened, she feels them tighten around her wrists, pinning them together.

"Get back down there." He says, forcing her back down underneath the glove compartment. "And don't make a sound, or I just might decide you're not worth the trouble."

She feels the car start to move again, but has absolutely no chance of knowing where she is going with the sack over her head.

* * *

Tim rushes into the Batcave, heading straight for the locker room.

Alfred is surprised to see him home, since he is supposed to be at school. "Master Timothy; what are you doing home?" He asks.

"Can't talk, Al; I have to go save Steph." He replies, changing into his Robin costume.

"Has something happened to Miss Brown?" Alfred asks, pressing a button on the computer to call Bruce at the office.

"Someone kidnapped her." Tim replies, stepping out and putting his domino mask on.

"Master Timothy; you're face?" Alfred asks, upon seeing the red mark on his right cheek.

"It's nothing, Al." Robin replies. "I was trying to save her, and got punched with the butt of a gun."

"I'm afraid that I can't allow you to go out there, Master Timothy." Alfred says, pressing several more buttons, locking down the Batcave. "Not is this condition."

"I have to get out there and help Dick." Robin says, pleading.

"Master Richard?" Alfred asks, his hand hovering over the button that will lock the cave down until either Bruce or Dick return.

"Yeah, he was there. He tried to stop the guy but he got shot; he's trying to track him down now, but he needs my help." Robin says, sitting on Batgirl's bike, and staring at Alfred. "Please let me go out there."

"No, Tim." Bruce's voice says over the speaker, as his face appears on the large computer screen. "You're too emotional right now; it's too personal."

"Damn right it's personal; she's my best friend!" Robin yells at the screen.

"Exactly why you need to sit this out until you are calm." Bruce says. "I'm going to join Dick, and we'll find her."

Robin slams the bike down, and glares at the screen. "If it was Barbara that had been kidnapped, you'd never force Dick to sit it out!"

"For three reasons." Bruce says. "One, Dick is 18 and I can't make his decisions for him. Two, he's mature enough to approach it rationally. And three, he wouldn't have told me until he was already outside, and beyond my means to stop him. Stay put, Tim. Alfred, lock it down."

Robin watches in horror, as Alfred presses the final button, locking them into the Batcave, indefinitely.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hunted**

**Chapter.13.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 14, 2015 – 08:51 EST**_

Nightwing's bike comes to a stop at an intersection, it's driver, slumping to one side. "Damn it." He mumbles through gritted teeth. "Where the hell did he go?"

Just as he makes the decision to go left, Helena's Ferrari comes to a screeching halt in front of him, blocking his path. "Get in; you can barely stand, let alone drive that think." Huntress says.

In too much pain to argue, he pressed a button, instructing the bike to return to its hiding place until called for. Then, he climbs into the passenger seat, and slumps down.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She asks, driving away. "You almost got yourself killed."

"Kevlar." He says. "Prevents the bullet from penetrating; but hurts like hell."

"I figured as much, when I saw you stand up after getting shot at near point blank range; I mean driving off like that. You can barely lift your arm, and aren't wearing a helmet; you could have crashed and killed yourself." She says.

"Thanks, mom." He mumbles. "I know what I'm doing; I've been doing it for years."

"Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah; I've heard it before." She says. "That kind of attitude is going to get you or someone you care about killed, one day."

"Oh, and your solo crusade against organized crime is a much safer lifestyle?" He replies.

She is silent for a while, as she drives, what seems like, a random route.

"Do you have any idea where you're going?" He asks, finally.

"I have a clue as to where Omerta went." She says.

"Omerta? The mob hit-man? That's who that was?" He asks.

"Yes, Omerta the Silencer, they call him." She replies. "The man who killed my family."

"Wait, I thought Mandragora killed your family?" He asks.

"What, you think mob bosses ever really get their own hands dirty? No; Mandragora ordered it, but Omerta was the trigger man." She replies. "I was hoping to run into him."

"So, he's the 'specialist' they were talking about?" He asks.

"Must be." She replies.

"But why would he be following you?" He asks. "He doesn't know who you are; does he?"

"I don't think so. But he could have just been trying to finish the job he started years ago." She replies.

"I don't know; he could have tried to take you at your house, or anywhere along the way to the school." Nightwing says. "He just followed you, and stopped in front of the school. Unless, he was hoping to draw me out; he did seem to be expecting me."

"That doesn't sound like his style." She says. "He rarely goes out into the open like that without a purpose. Do you know who he took?"

"A young girl from your class; Stephanie Brown." He replies, trying to flex his left arm, and grimacing in pain.

He hears her suck in breath through her teeth, and mumble, "Damn."

"What? What's going on here?" He asks, his attention fully on Huntress.

"She was another possible channel to Mandragora that I was investigating." She replies.

"Wait; how is she connected to Mandragora?" He asks.

"Not her; her father." She replies.

"Cluemaster? I still don't see the connection." He says.

"Wait, you knew her father was Cluemaster?" She asks. "Oh, right; I forgot who you work with for a second there."

"So, how is Cluemaster connected to Mandragora?" He asks. "He's still in prison."

"No he's not; he was paroled three weeks ago. And no one has heard from him since." She replies. "And his cellmate this entire time was one of Mandragora's top lieutenants; one that he trusted more than the others."

"And you think he may have inadvertently leaked some crucial information about Mandragora's whereabouts to Cluemaster?" He asks.

"That or he may have offered him a chance to get in good with Mandragora, and given him some info that way." She replies. "I know it's weak, but I needed to check it out; and I thought Cluemaster may have tried to contact his daughter."

"And now Omerta has her, and probably thinks what you thought." He says.

"So, he'll either try to find out if she actually knows anything and then kill her, or just kill her outright." She says. "I'm hoping that the fact he kidnapped her, means that he won't kill her yet."

"You better hope he hasn't harmed her, because if your personal vendetta costs any innocents their lives, you'll have to answer for it." He says, and she can hear the sternness in his voice. He presses a few buttons on his gauntlet, and sits back.

* * *

Stephanie is dragged from the car, and shoved forward into what she thinks is an elevator. After a quick ride, she is shoved out, and down a hall before being forced through a doorway. She hears the door close, and the lock click. Then she is shoved further into the room, until she bangs her knees against something.

The gunman grabs her shoulder, and turns her around, pushing her down into the chair. "Don't move." He says.

She feels a rope wrap around her, pinning her back to the chair. Another rope pins her legs to the legs of the chair. Only then does the sack come off her head.

She blinks, trying to adjust her eyes, but before she can, she is slapped across the face.

"That was just a warning." The gunman says. "The violence will only escalate from here on. Now, I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to answer me truthfully. If I think you're lying, then I get violent. Do you understand?"

"Who are you?" She asks, and receives an even harder slap.

"You don't get to ask questions, you just answer mine; is that understood?" He asks.

Tears start to fall from her eyes, and she tries to control herself. "Yes." She replies.

"Good." He says, starting to walk around her, waving his gun. "First question: when is the last time you heard from your father?"

"He called me the day he was released to tell me that he got out." She replies.

A closed fist slams into her jaw, spinning her head to the side. "Not good enough; tell me the truth." The gunman says, coldly.

Her tears fall freely now, completely uncontrolled. "I'm telling the truth."

Another punch, only harder hits the other side of her face. "What did I say? It's only going to get worse if you keep lying."

"I'm not lying!" She shouts. "He called me the day he got out, and that was it!"

"Then why do your phone records show several calls from Bludhaven in the last three weeks?" He asks.

"I don't know; I don't know anyone in Bludhaven." She replies.

He punches her in the stomach, but because of the rope holding her in place she can't bend to absorb it; so her breath is forced out of her, and she starts gasping for air.

"I can do this all day, and you don't want to see what happens when I finally get mad." He says, stepping up close, and grabbing her hair. He forces her to look up into his masked face. "I know lots of ways to make you suffer, and still keep you alive until I get what I want."

"I'm telling you the truth." She cries out, her lip bleeding. "I haven't talked to my dad since he got out, and I don't know anyone in Bludhaven. Maybe someone was calling my mom; I don't know."

"So then, your mother would know?" He asks, releasing her hair, and continuing his pacing.

"You leave her alone!" She yells. "She doesn't know anything!"

"Maybe we'll have to see." He replies. "Next question: has your father ever mentioned the name Mandragora to you?"

"Who's Mandragora?" She asks.

Another punch to the stomach sends the chair over onto its back, as she gasps for air again.

He stands over her, pointing the gun at her head. "I said, no question; just answers."

"No, he never mentioned anyone by that name." She says, her eyes shut as tears stain her cheeks.

"Why don't I believe you?" He asks.

"Because you're a sadistic fuck head." She says.

He stomps down on her chest with his foot several times, forcing her to scream in pain.

When he stops, he steps away, letting her catch her breath.

"You asked a question." She says, between breaths.

"Cute; but watch your tongue if you want to keep it. I can always just cut it out and have you write down the answers." He says.

He grabs the rope around her chest, and uses it to pull the chair upright again.

"One last time; Mandragora?" He asks.

"I told you the truth; I've never heard that name before." She replies.

"Well, physical violence doesn't seem to be loosening your tongue; maybe it's time I resort to different methods." He says, stopping his pacing and staring right at her. "I'm sure there are other things I could do to you that would get you to talk; nice young girl like yourself all dressed up in her little school girl uniform."

Stephanie suddenly understands terror. She knew she was scarred before, but this was a whole other level of fear; something she thought she'd never feel.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hunted**

**Chapter.14.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 14, 2015 – 09:26 EST**_

"Is this the place?" Nightwing asks, as Helena's Ferrari comes to a stop next to a high rise in the wealthier district of Uptown Gotham.

"Penthouse apartment; it's where he killed my family." Huntress replies.

"Why would he come here?" He asks.

"Because he's sick." She replies. "Mandragora bought the building after the killing, and still owns it. It wouldn't surprise me to find him up there living in the place of his greatest victory."

"We need to do this carefully; saving Stephanie is our top priority." He says.

"I won't let him get away." She says.

"Huntress, you better not do anything to risk her life." He says, grabbing her arm.

"You might as well call me Helena, now." She says, pulling her arm free. "You know who I really am."

"Too risky to do that." He replies. "If I get too comfortable, then I may give away your secret to the wrong person."

"You seemed perfectly fine getting comfortable the other night?" She says.

"Now is not the time to talk about that." He says, looking up at the building, and seeing a shadow swing onto the roof.

"Fine; we'll talk later, Lover." She says, causing him to look back at her. "I'll take the elevator up, and use the front door; drawing his attention. You do what you do best, and save the day, Hero."

Nightwing watches as she walks up to the service elevator, and gets in. Once the door closes he gets his grappling hook ready.

A beeping lets him know that someone is calling him. Tapping his ear, he answers, "Yeah."

"I'm here." Is the reply he gets.

"Penthouse. I'm on my way." He says.

* * *

Huntress stops the elevator two floors below the penthouse level, and uses the emergency access hatch to climb onto the elevator roof. It's only a matter of seconds later that she finishes climbing the ladder up to the right floor. She pushes open the doors with her one free hand, and jumps into the hallway, pulling out her crossbows.

She is surprised to see the hallway empty, and looks for cameras; but finds none. "This is sloppy." She mumbles. "Maybe he isn't here?"

She stealthily approaches the door, and listens for any noise. She hears distant shuffling sounds, as well as someone crying.

She kicks in the door, and rushes in, crossbows at the ready. She sees Stephanie, hands still tied, with a gag in her mouth, and her clothes torn to shreds, crying on the ground in the corner of the room.

Something hard slams into the back of her head, and she falls forward onto all fours.

"I knew you'd manage to figure out where I was." Omerta says, standing over her with his gun pointed at her head. He puts the gun away, and grabs the chair that Stephanie had been tied too. With a swift downward swing, he shatters the wooden chair on Huntress' back, knocking her flat. "I finally get to finish the job I started 7 years ago; kill your entire family."

She tries to kick out with her leg, but he stomps down on her knee, bending it sideways, and causing her to scream. He places another kick to her ribs, flipping her onto her back.

He pulls out his gun again, and points it under her chin. "I knew it was you that was poking your nose into the bosses business the moment I heard about Gianfranco; your dad had a thing for arrows too." He backhands her across the face with the gun. "Didn't help him back then, and it won't help you now."

Stephanie cries out through her gag, and Omerta looks over at her, then back at Huntress. "The brat knows nothing; you were wasting your time on her." He says. "She was good for letting off a little steam." He trails his gun down her throat, and in between her breasts. "But I think I'll have more fun with you."

Huntress brings her knee up into his groin, as hard as she can, and is rewarded with a groan, as he rolls off her. She knocks his gun away with her hand, and manages to roll away, but can't stand because of her knee.

She picks up a crossbow, and points it at his head. "The pleasure will be all mine, Omerta." She says.

But before she can fire, a Batarang knocks the crossbow out of her hand.

She looks up to see, Batman standing in the doorway.

Nightwing crashes through the window on the other side of the room, and rushes over to Stephanie. He removes the gag, cuts her hands free, and shields her with his body; holding her tightly, as she cries.

"No." She hears someone say quietly, and she looks over to see Robin standing behind Batman. The look of concern on his face is instantly replaced with one of rage, as he charges at Omerta; but Batman is one step ahead, and he grabs Robin before he can get there.

"Robin; control yourself." Batman says in his gravelly voice.

Omerta has managed to crawl over to the broken window, and starts laughing. "Pathetic." He says. "All of you; none of you has the balls to do what you need to do to stop me. Even if you arrest me; I'll get out. And I'll continue doing what I do."

No one notices that Huntress has grabbed her other crossbow, and is slowly aiming it at Omerta; no one except Robin, that is.

He escapes Batman's grip, and rushes at Omerta again, just as Huntress fires her arrow.

In a blur, the arrow, Robin, and Omerta connect, and go sailing out the window.

"Robin!" Nightwing yells, not releasing his protective hold on Stephanie.

Batman kicks the crossbow out of her hands, and rushes to the window, just as Robin climbs back inside, an arrow protruding from his left shoulder. He helps the young boy stand up, and asks, "Omerta?"

"Got him with a de-cel cable; he's hanging about 7 stories below." Robin replies.

Batman pats him on the right shoulder, and Nightwing smiles proudly at him.

"Robin, give me your cape." Nightwing says.

Robin removes his cape, and hands it to Nightwing, while looking away.

Nightwing takes the cape, and wraps it around Stephanie, making sure she is covered. "Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yes." She replies, between sobs. "Thank...you...for...saving...me."

"Did he..?" Nightwing starts to ask, but can't seem to find the courage to finish his question.

"No." She replies, and everyone visibly breathes a sigh of relief. "He was going to...to...but you guys got here before he could." She breaks down into tears again, burying her face into Nightwing's chest.

Nightwing looks over his shoulder at Batman, and says, "I'll take her to the hospital."

Batman nods, and Nightwing scoops her up in his arms. He walks towards the front door, glaring at Huntress as he does.

Robin starts to follow, but Batman places a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "No, Robin; you need to go see someone about that arrow."

"But..." Robin begins to say, but a glare from Batman silences him.

"We'll talk later." Batman says, as Robin leaves.

Batman walks over to Huntress, and helps her stand, before slamming her back into the wall, and pinning her there with his forearm. "You listen up and you listen good; the Huntress dies tonight."

"But..." She begins to say, but he presses his forearm into her throat, cutting her off.

"I know who you are, and what you're trying to do. I know about what you did to Gianfranco, and a half-dozen other mobsters; and I don't approve." He says. "You nearly got an innocent girl raped and killed today, and you shot Robin while trying to exact your petty revenge." He leans in until his nose brushes against hers. "That's not how we do things in 'my' city. You can stay here and continue living your regular life, but if I ever so much as catch a glimpse of you in costume, or hear a rumor that you are back at it, you'll have me to answer to." He leans back, and lets her go. "I'm not turning you in because Nightwing vouched for you, but this is the only time I grant you that privilege."

Batman turns around and walks over to the window. He looks down before turning back to face her. "I mean it, Helena Bertinelli; no more." Then he jumps out the window.

* * *

Back at the Batcave, shortly after Alfred locked them in, Robin presses a button on his gauntlet, opening a channel to Nightwing.

"You can't do this to me, Alfred. I have to go." Robin says, knowing that Nightwing can hear everything he's saying.

"I'm sorry, Master Timothy; but Master Bruce was very clear." Alfred replies. "I am sorry, but I agree with him; this is too personal for you to be getting involved."

"If anything happens to her...I don't know what I'll do." Robin says. He hears a click on his communicator, and smiles. Jumping on Batgirl's bike, he starts it.

"What are you doing, Master Timothy? All the exits are locked." Alfred says.

"Not anymore." Robin says. He kicks the bike into gear, and takes off down the road, timing it so that he squeezes underneath the door as it opens for him.

He presses a button on the bike's computer, and it soon shows a map of Gotham with three lights flashing on it. Finding the one representing Nightwing, he adjusts his direction, and heads into town.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hunted**

**Chapter.15.**

_**Gotham City**_

_**September 14, 2015 – 11:08 EST**_

Lieutenant Philips can't believe his luck; he finally gets to meet Batman, but then he gets stuck hauling some masked criminal in the back seat of his patrol car. And to top it off, the man won't stop laughing.

After 10 minutes, he finally has enough, and he stops the car. "Would you shut the hell up?" He yells at the man.

The man keeps laughing, even harder.

Philips exits the car. "I'll just say that the Batman knocked him out; no one will question that." He mumbles to himself.

He opens the back door, and reaches in, just as the masked man kicks out with his right foot.

Philips feels a sharp pain in his gut, and steps back, looking down at his stomach, as the man's foot slides away, revealing a blade protruding from the toe of his shoe, covered in blood.

The masked man swings his right foot in an arc, slicing across Philips' neck.

Philips' hands shoot up to his neck, as blood starts squirting out. He drops to his knees, before collapsing on the ground, gurgling blood from his mouth; dead.

Omerta, climbs out of the patrol car, and bends down to remove the handcuff keys from Philips' belt. Seconds later, he rubs his wrists, as he drops the handcuffs on the dead police office.

A black car with tinted windows pulls up next to the police car, and he climbs into the back seat, before it drives away.

* * *

Robin lands on the roof of the building across the street from Gotham General Hospital, and walks to the edge. He removes his binoculars, and looks through them.

"Third floor, second from the left." He hears Nightwing say.

He turns to find Nightwing sitting in the shadows, with his own set of binoculars pointed at the hospital.

"I figured Alfred and Bruce wouldn't let you out, so I decided to keep an eye on her for you." Nightwing says.

"I didn't go back to the cave; I went to see Doc Thompkins." Robin replies.

"Smart move." Nightwing replies.

They sit there in silence for a few minutes, before Robin says, "Thank you; for everything."

"No problem." Nightwing replies, with a little smirk.

"I mean it, 'Wing. If you hadn't unlocked the Batcave I would have gone crazy." Robin says.

"I know." Nightwing replies. "Don't get me wrong, I understand why Bruce did what he did; heck I even agree with it."

Robin drops his binoculars, and looks over at Nightwing in shock. "Then why let me out?" He asks.

"Because, Bruce was acting like a father and he was trying to protect you from getting hurt; I would have done the same if you were my son." Nightwing replies.

"But you didn't." Robin says.

"No, because I'm not your father; I'm your brother. And while I do want to protect you, I look at you more like an equal; I also understand that you needed to be a part of it." Nightwing replies. "I know that you would have beaten yourself up if something had happened to her and you weren't there to try and stop it."

"But something did happen to her." Robin says, picking up his binoculars again, and finding her room.

"Yeah, but it's not as bad as it could have been." Nightwing replies. "When I dropped her off, I told the doctor that she might have been raped, and was possibly in denial. I waited around until the doctor finished checking her out, and she told me that they had checked her for signs of rape, and that she in fact hadn't been raped."

Robin lets out a sigh of relief. "Well, at least that's some good news." He says.

"Yeah." Nightwing says. "But she still does have a broken nose, split lip, and two broken ribs."

"Those will heal though." Robin says. "I can't imagine what she would be going through if he had actually...you know."

"Yeah." Nightwing replies. "I know." He stands up, and puts his binoculars away. "She's asleep right now; they gave her a sedative. Just thought you might like to know, in case you wanted to get a closer look and see how's she's doing."

"Where are you going?" Robin asks.

"Well now that you're here to watch her, I'm headed back to feel the wrath of the Bat." Nightwing says.

"I'm sorry." Robin says.

"Don't be; I knew what I was doing. That's what being a big brother is about; helping out my little brother whenever he needs me." Nightwing replies. He starts to walk away from the edge, but Robin stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

"What about Huntress?" Robin asks.

"If I know Batman, and I'm pretty sure I do, he tried to put a scare into her, to stop her from continuing her vendetta." Nightwing replies.

"And do you think it'll work?" Robin asks.

Nightwing looks back over his shoulder at the hospital. "No; I don't think it will. In fact, I think it might make things worse."

"So, what happens now?" Robin asks.

"I don't know, Little Bird; I don't know." Nightwing replies, walking across the roof, and dropping off into the alley.

* * *

"...all the irresponsible things to do!" Bruce shouts at Nightwing, while still dressed in his Batman costume with his cowl pulled back. "Tim could have been killed, because of you!"

"But he wasn't." Nightwing replies.

"He very nearly was!" Bruce shouts.

"He needed to be there." Nightwing says, calmly. "He needed to feel like he did everything he could, or he would have beaten himself up about it; and he would never have forgiven you if anything had happened to Stephanie."

Bruce opens his mouth to speak, but Nightwing holds up a hand to stop him.

"I don't care what you think about it, Bruce; I did what I know was right, and I'd do it again." Nightwing says. "You made sure I was able to get justice for the deaths of my parents, even though people would have said you were crazy for bringing me along, but you did it anyways; you knew that I needed to be a part of it. Well I knew Tim needed to be a part of this. He helped save Stephanie, and when the time came to decide between vengeance and justice, he chose justice; just like you always taught us."

Before Bruce can reply, Batgirl's face appears on the screen behind them. "Batgirl to cave." She says.

Bruce reaches over and presses the button allowing him to communicate with her. "What have you got, Batgirl?" He asks.

"It's just like you said, Omerta escaped police custody, and was picked up; the officer is dead. I tried following the tracer you put on him before handing him over to the police, but he's already gone beyond the city, and I don't have a vehicle."

Her picture is replaced by a map of Gotham, and the surrounding area. A small red dot can be seen northwest of the city, and heading away.

"It looks like they're on 61 West, heading towards..." Batgirl says.

"...Bludhaven." Bruce finishes. "I should have known."

"What are you talking about?" Nightwing asks.

"Mandragora had been trying to expand into Bludhaven around the time that he had the Bertinelli family killed." Bruce explains. "I guess that he managed to get at least a foothold."

"You think that's where he's hiding out?" Nightwing asks.

"It would make sense." Bruce replies. "No one has seen him in years, but he's still operational. He's probably been hiding out in Bludhaven this whole time, building up an empire there, while trying to salvage what he could out of Gotham."

A siren sounds, and the map is replaced by a picture of Mr. Freeze.

"Looks like Freeze decided he didn't like his cell in Arkham." Nightwing says.

"Have Alfred take a look at your shoulder." Bruce says, pulling his cowl back on, and running to the Batmobile. "We'll continue our talk when I get back."

"I'm sure we will." Nightwing mumbles, pulling up the map again, and watching the flashing dot.


	16. Epilogue

**Hunted**

**Epilogue**

_**Bludhaven**_

_**September 18, 2015 – 14:38 EST**_

Bludhaven's weather makes Gotham look like Miami in summer, as dark clouds constantly hover over the city, and a cold rain falls on its citizens.

A Ferrari, completely out of place compared to the more blue-collar cars being driven on the streets, parks in front of a downtown hotel. A man dressed in a valet uniform, runs forward, and opens the door, helping a woman out.

Helena stands up, taking her crutches from the back seat, and turns to the valet. "If there is so much as a scratch on it when I come back, or even an eighth of a mile extra on the odometer, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life paying off the new car you'll be buying me."

The man gulps, and says, "Yes, Mam."

She hands him the keys, and points to the bag in the passenger seat. "Bring that to me once you've parked it, and I'll give you your tip; and don't even think about taking anything inside; I know exactly what is in there, and how it was packed."

"Yes, Ma'am." The man says again.

She hands him the keys, and uses the crutches to support her, since her right leg is wrapped in a brace, as she walks into the hotel.

* * *

Across town, at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Dick Grayson gets off the bus, just behind a young girl. He watches as she is approached by two guys.

"Hey, Babe. You got a place to stay?" One of them asks.

"You know anybody in 'haven?" The other one asks.

"Well..." She manages to squeak out, obviously scared.

"She knows me." Dick says, stepping up to the two guys.

"Why don't choo back off, Cowboy." The first guy says, as they both point their fingers at him.

He quickly grabs their pointed fingers, and snaps them back. "You didn't say 'please'." He says.

He releases their fingers, and they run away, in pain.

"What's your name?" He asks the girl, turning to face her.

"Tandy." She replies, pulling her over large coat tighter around herself.

"You can have my return ticket to Gotham." He says.

"Don't want it." She replies.

"It wasn't a question." He says.

"I'm not going back. Not to that." She says.

"Listen; whatever you're running from is a picnic compared to what those two had planned." He says, taking her hand and placing the ticket, as well as any cash he has on him into her hand. "Gotham's a big place. You know Wayne-Corp?"

"Sure. I guess." She replies, tears forming in her eyes.

"Bet they might have a job for you, Tandy. One that you can live with." He says. "Tell them Dick Grayson sent you."

He watches as she gets back on the bus, before turning around and heading into town.

**THE END**

**A/N:** That's it for this story; I may someday decide to pick it up and continue it, but for now, it's done. The entire bit about Dick Grayson arriving in Bludhaven comes straight from the Nightwing comics (Nightwing #1, from the original ongoing series); word for word. I tried my best to convey what is happening in the issue, but suggest you give it a read. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review this story, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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